Over N60m has so far been generated into the coffers of the Cross River State Government following allocation of hectares of cocoa plots to contractors.
Special Adviser to immediate-past Cross River State governor on Cocoa Development and Control, Ntufam Dr. Oscar Ofuka, stated this on Sunday in Calabar while answering questions on his account of stewardship from newsmen after claiming to have presented his handover note to authorities of the state.
Out of the said amount, Etung Cocoa landlord communities have the share of what Government had owed them as royalties for the land that it occupied.
“The propaganda sponsored against me in several quarters by my Etung people Local Government Area of Cross River State that I collected royalties meant for Cocoa landlord communities and squandered is now known to be false.
“I am one of the happiest men in Cross River State for the truth to have come out.
“I was maligned, chastised, arrested, manhandled like a common criminal and whisked to Alagbon close in Lagos state and locked up in a underground cell by a retired AIG from my LGA, claiming that I had diverted the royalty money.
“Today the community have gotten their royalty money. All were lies, they framed me up properly because I was hardworking,” Ofuka stated.
He added that payment of royalties to cocoa landlord communities was achieved through a payment mechanism called Smartgov platform.
“Under the Smartgov, once a contractor pays his money for a plot of cocoa hectares, 49.5 per cent of the cash goes straight into the bank account of Cocoa landlord communities.
“40.5 percent moves to the account of the Cross River State Internal Revenue Service IRS while 10 per cent of the cash enters account of Department of Cross River State Cocoa Development and Control,” Ofuka stated.
He said that the initiative was to enable him secure prompt payment of the rent and royalties owed the cocoa landlord communities right from the the days of Governor Liyel Imoke administration till date, stressing that it’s the only strategy to defray the debt owed the landlord communities.
Ofuka enumerated his his giant strides to include verification and image capturing exercise to ascertain allottees in the farm under the small holders scheme to check ghost farmers, recovery of unpaid lease from farmers, adoption of small holders scheme and rehabilitation of four estates.
He said under the Ayade cocoa legacy, he established the Akin/Osomba Cocoa Estate in Akamkpa Local Government Area, he raised 10millon cocoa seedlings and planted the seedlings at Ayade Legacy Cocoa Estate at Akin Osomba.
On access road to the farm lands, Ofuka stressed that the department of cocoa development and control acquired 7,000 hectares of agro-forest land at Etara and Ekuri in Etung LGA to expand cocoa programme under the CBN cocoa initiative.
Again, under the Central Bank of Nigeria cocoa initiative, he said that the cocoa and control department acquired ten thousand hectares of agro forest land at Ndeghe community with an access road created to the community and to the farmland.
“We graded access roads in the four government-owned cocoa following plantations following the deplorable access roads in the estates.”
Ofuka maintained that the department under his watch, established a demonstration farm at the Cross River State Broadcasting Cooperation (CRBC) Calabar, where seedlings can be raised.
He said that the department also created a database for allocation where the data was used for debt recovery in the lease allocation of 2016/ 2019.
Other achievements include recovery of 32 hectares of Cross River State cocoa farm at Abonita cocoa estate in Etung LGA of the state illegally ceded to private individuals in Ajassor community via consent judgement of court.
On the summary of allocation, under the new six years lease of 2024 to 2029, Ofuka said, total hectares available stood at 4,637with about 1,208 hectares allocated to contractors adding that 3, 429 were yet to be allocated stressing that over N60m has been generated with about N35m royalties paid to the landlord account as of May 24, 2023.
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