RUGA: Abia Govt To Sue Monarch Over Land Acquisition.

Abia State government has threatened to take legal action against the traditional ruler of Umuobasi autononmous community, Osisioma Ngwa local government area, Eze Prof. S.I. Owuala, for allegedly claiming that an expanse of land measuring 20 hectares at Aro Ngwa community, has been acquired for  the RUGA project.

Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Uche Ihediwa, said an action would be taken against the monarch if he fails to apologize within 7 days, stressing that the government was displeased with the report as no certificate of occupancy has been issued on the land.

Decrying the controversy trailing the land at Aro Ngwa,  Ihediwa explained  the process of acquiring the land predated the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, insisting that the land lying along the Enugu – Port Harcourt expressway was mapped out at the request of the federal government in 2014 to construct a trailer park to de-congest traffic in Aba and described the rumours as unfounded and wicked.

Ihediwa, who was Commissioner for Lands and Survey in 2014, also noted that the land at Aro Ngwa measuring 20 hectares did not meet FG’s requirement of 50 hectares of land for a trailer park.  He, however, disclosed that the state government has decided to build a car Assembly plant on the land.

“The man who is behind this false information is the traditional ruler of Umuobasi Autonomous Community in Osisioma Ngwa LGA. We’ve not even given letter of allocation not to talk of certificate of occupancy for the trailer park. It will be insensitive for us to go against what the entire South East in the issue of RUGA. We’re giving him 7 days to apologize to Abia State government or we’ll meet him in court.

“We want to clear the air on this unfortunate, unfounded and malicious insinuations going round the state. The land use Act is very clear on the processes and procedures that can be followed before lands can be acquired.

“In September 2914, the Federal Ministry of Works, Transport and Housing requested for land to establish trailer park in the course of the reconstruction of the Enugu/Port Harcourt Highway.

“This was in 2014 and as at then the project was going on in almost all commercial cities in Nigeria meant to avoid unnecessary traffic in the city. The request then was for specific areas; one in Umunneochi, another in Umuahia while we have the last one at Aro-Ngwa in Osisioma Ngwa LGA.  This was how what started under President Jonathan suddenly took another colouration which was never within the plan of Abia State government to establish anything like RUGA here.

“The government then penciled down some areas for that project. Every Federal Government project comes with request for land. This request was made under President Jonathan, but in the passage of time people will intend to give misguided interpretation to a very noble objective.

“When we came on board, the request was still on the pipeline so we went about trying to interact with the communities in the areas penciled down for this trailer park. They requested for 50 hectares, but all we saw in the area was 20 hectares and so we aborted that assignment leading to the penciling of the land for a Car Assembly Plant attracted by the governor from China.

“As we were working on the Car Assembly Plant, someone who knew about the trailer park in this very dispensation of RUGA went about spreading the rumours that the trailer park is now a plot to establish RUGA.