June 06, (THEWILL) – The Akwa Ibom State commissioner for Lands and Water Resources, Capt. Iniobong Ekong, has disclosed that facility developments have commenced in Government owned estates within the state.
The commissioner, who gave the hint in a statement issued in Uyo on Monday and made available to THEWILL, stated that measures were being taken to encourage plot owners in such estates to commence development on their plots to forestall possible encroachments.
According to the statement endorsed by the commissioner, activities being undertaken so far include: opening of internal road network, mounting of electric poles, as well as fencing and water reticulation.
The statement urged plot owners in such estates to reciprocate government gestures by taking advantage of the move to commence building activities.
It listed the estates to include, government residential estate, Nung Ette, government residential estate, Iba Oku and government residential estate, Ikot Oduot, Ibesikpo. Others are government residential estate, Nung Oku, commercial estate, Atan Offot and Employment Centre/Light industries.
The statement, however, warned that failure to comply with the directive of the government within six months might lead to the revocation of allocation as contained in the letters of allocation.
In a related development, the ministry of lands and water resources, has warned persons involved in illegal acquisition of land to desist or risk punitive measures, as the state government was moving to check the menace of land grabbing in the state.
Capt. Iniobong Ekong disclosed this in Uyo, when he paid a courtesy visit to the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Amiengheme Andrew, at the state police headquarter and the state director of state services department.
He mentioned that the visits were part of the ministry’s mandate in ensuring zero tolerance to illegal land grabbing and other crimes related to land and water.
Stressing the importance of land to the development of any society, the commissioner underscored the essence of the visits which he said was to seek partnership with the security agencies in tackling the menace of land marauders.
Responding, the police commissioner noted that the command was handling numerous land cases and commended the ministry for taking the steps to curb the ugly trend, and promised the cooperation of the security agencies in the state.
