Tension In Akwa Ibom As 3 LGs Lay Claims To Piece Of Land

Tension is building up in Akwa Ibom State as Eket, Esit Eket and Ibeno local government areas are claiming ownership of the disputed Stubbs Creek acquired by BUA Group for the construction of a multibillion-naira petrochemical project.

The people of Eket and Esit Eket warned their Ibeno neighbours to quit the land or be ready for another round of hostility.

As a deterrent, the Ekid ethnic nationality under the aegis of the Ekid People’s Union (EPU), have thus petitioned the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the National Security Adviser (NSA); the Director General (DG), Department of State Services (DSS) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), to impress it on the Ibeno people to peacefully quit the land, alleging that “they are occupying the land illegally because it belongs to Ekid people.”

It was learnt that the petition signed by the union’s president-general, Dr Samuel Udonsak and made available to LEADERSHIP Sunday, was part of the submission of EPU to the Akwa Ibom State Land Use Allocation Committee (ASLUAC), which sat in Uyo, the state capital, on Thursday.

It read, “It is with the permission of the paramount rulers of Eket and Esit Eket, and the Power of Attorney (PA) granted by Ekid people that the EPU, is representing Ekid people (Eket and Esit Eket) here in this committee today.

“The land occupied by Ibeno people today is Ekid land. Undoubtedly so by the Privy Council (PC) judgment of 1918. We take the liberty of this meeting to put Ibeno and your committee on notice that we have petitioned the AGF, NSA, DG, DSS and the IGP, that they are occupying our land illegally and must quit peacefully. We have also intimated them of our resolve to recover our land peacefully.

“You are aware that we are in court on the matter of BUA’s encroachment of our land and we are pleased to inform you of the request by the state’s director of civil litigations (DCL) to settle the matter out of court met with the consent of the Ekid people.”

EPU congratulated BUA for the epoch-making investment and considering the importance of refinery/petrochemical plants, particularly the place of refinery products in Nigeria’s economy, promising that Ekid people would wholeheartedly support the BUA project to succeed.

“Regrettably, the government misled BUA as it still continues to mislead other investment concerns in the Stubbs Creek Forest. It is our prayer and hope that this committee would urge itself and the government to desist from its confiscation/usurpation of Ekid land in the Stubbs Creek Forest (Akoiyak Ekid),” they added.

They called on royal fathers, Edidem E.C.D. Abia and Edidem Peter Assam, to convey their petition to the government hoping that government would find it helpful in fashioning out a peaceful investment model in the mineral-rich creek.