Delta State Task Force on Recovery of Government Lands has taken drastic steps to flush out land grabbers from the state’s Dennis Osadebay University, Anwai-Asaba.
The task force, however, said Governor Sheriff Oborevwori was not intimidating, harassing and oppressing anybody over the recovery of lands belonging to the state government.
Its chairman, Chief Frank Omare, who stated this during an interaction with journalists in Asaba, lamented that land grabbers had chased the school authorities from their own land.
Flanked by members of the committee at the site of the ongoing demolition of illegal structures at ‘Musa Camp,’ Asaba, he promised that the task force would not allow land grabbers take university land.
According to him, the land belongs to the university and it was one of the prerequisites for the accreditation of the Faculty of Agriculture of the university.
He said, “The government is not doing this to hurt anybody because an approval to build does not confer ownership of land on anyone. The government officials that gave them building approvals are in trouble with the state government.
“It is not about political parties but the integrity of the state. It is not a committee for the university but the entire state. It is not meant to frustrate visitors, investors. We are all Deltans.
“We are looking for the land grabbers because you cannot be deceiving responsible Nigerians in these hard times. They deceive unsuspecting members of the public that the land belongs to the community. They sell and use the money to build wonderful houses.
“Yes, times are very hard but there are laws and what we are doing is enforcing the law to recover this land from the grabbers.”
Omare said the demolition was a state government directive and not meant to witch-hunt anybody.
The taskforce chairman frowned at the activities of some government officials who allegedly encouraged the land grabbers, adding that the long arm of the law would soon catch up with them.
“We are aware that top government functionaries are encouraging the land grabbers to continue to undermine the government. This is unacceptable because we don’t encourage people to mislead poor people.
“When we turn in our report, you will see that Governor Sheriff Oborevwori is doing everything possible to accommodate Deltans but through the proper way.
“This is government land for the university. Once the government takes a decision it may be slow but surely it will come to pass,” Omare stated.
