The people of Eket oil-rich communities in Akwa Ibom state on the platform of Ekid Peoples Union have warned the core investor of the Petrochemical project (BUA Group) now ready to commence operation in the area to consult Eket people before the Stubb Creek Forest also known as Akoiyak before been used for the Petrochemical Refinery business.
The Ekid people comprising os Eket and Esit respectively stated that nobody can use people’s land for private business without consulting the landlords.
Addressing a press conference in Eket at the weekend, the President General of Ekid Peoples Union (EPU) Dr Samuel Udonsak said the Akwa Ibom state government was wrong to have allocated the land to BUA Group without negotiations with land owners.
Udonsak threatened that Ekid people could rise against the government if it failed to recognize that Stubb Creek Forest or Akoiyak land belongs to Eket, not Ibeno people whom he described as sojourners.
“We have valid evidence and court judgements to back up our claims, we are not just claiming it. What the Ibeno people have about the land is mere toilet paper in the guise of documentation “.
He called on BUA Petrochemical Refinery Limited to meet with the stakeholders of the host communities to address some nagging issues before the commencement of operations.
“The manner our land was taken was wrong and oppressive. We would have gotten the compensation if the acquisition was for overriding public interest and for the development of the community.
“In the first place, the acquisition is not for the overriding interest of the public. Government and BUA have to do the needful, they need to sit with the owners of the land and do the needful. What happens to our flora and fauna?” He queried
The Secretary General of EPU, Dan Abia, a lawyer, admitted that the state government had earlier attempted to compensate them for their land, adding that Ekid people never wanted compensation because the land acquisition was faulty.
He said all they were asking for was for the state government to follow the requirements of the law for land acquisition and for them to sit on a dialogue table with the investors and spell out their terms and conditions, especially on the preservation of their flora and fauna.
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Abia lamented over what he described as “lots of illegal acquisition in the Stubb Creeks of their forest reserves” noting that Ekid union will no longer allow such to continue under the guise that all lands belong to government.
He observed that Akwa Ibom State government has in the first place flouted its ordinance by giving out a forest reserve to a company to build a permanent structure.
He said “That place is a Forest Reserve established by ordinance and you have no right to put up a permanent structure only rights of fishing, tapping palm wine, even the government has violated the law it put in place.
“We have a lot of illegal acquisition going on the Stubb creeks of the forest reserves. Sometimes I hear people say government land, but there is nothing like government land rather lands are vested on the governor and there is a process of acquisition. The government can only acquire land for one purpose according to section 44 of the Constitution and section 22 of the Land Use Act which is for overriding public interest.
“It is wrong for government to acquire public land, convert it to private land and give it to a private individual. That’s not for overriding public interest. How can a private company (BUA) come into a community without sitting down with the owners of the land?
“We sat down one day and received a memo from the state government that they will pay compensation to us, compensation for what? The prescription of the law is that you give us notice of your intention to acquire and state the purpose of the acquisition and that purpose has to be overriding, then upon acquisition, you give us another notice of acquisition by gazetting, thirdly you pay adequate and prompt compensation, fourthly, you allow us access to the court if we disagree with the first three prescriptions.
“These were not done, government just sat down and issued Certificates of Occupancies to private companies whose only purpose is to make money, there is no proof that the government has any percentage share in BUA company.
“This is a clear case of modern-day slavery and robbery. We are in court presently and cannot allow that to happen,” he said.
