President ADU absolves fmr SGF Senator Pius Anyim of Land grabbing inOvumte Community.
The President, Amagu Develoment Union(ADU), Ishiagu, Ivo local government area of Ebonyi state Chief Livinus Ukah Okorie, has absolved former President of the Senate and Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim of land grabbing in the Ovumte land settlement in the area.
The President who spoke to journalists, frowned at the attitude of the settlers and said that Chief Anyim Pius has no hand in land grabbing in the community as being insinuated in many quarters.
He explained that the current decision to parcellate 158 hectares of the Ovumte land settlement was the collective decision of Amagu community after their general meeting to enable every family have a portion of the land and not for Chief Anyim to claim it as widely speculated.
Chief Ukah Okorie described the land settlement as a communal land and that there was oral agreement by forefathers of the community to allow some persons that settled in the land to be living there and give way anytime the community wants to use the land for development purposes.
He said "as far as I know as Chairman of the community, Ovumte land is a general land that belongs to the whole community. Though some people might come up trying to claim ownership of the land. Right from time immemorial, such people have been here and the community kept them as tenants, they pay rents to the community and the community allow them to stay. Our fathers made oral agreement that they can stay here but any time the community wants to make use of the land, the community is free to do so and we have been doing that.
"All of a sudden, these people started laying claim to the land saying that the land belongs to them and the community and the community has been making plans to percelate the whole Ovumte land so that every family in this community will have a share. This arrangement has been on going for the past twenty years. As I entered into this administration, 1stJanuary, 2020, that was when the community has finished every arrangement to start percelation.
"If they want to attract public sympathy, they will now go and call the name of one of our illustrious sons, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim that he is claiming the land. Anyim is not claiming any land in Ovumte. Whatever that is happening here is just the brain child of the whole community, not the brainchild of any individual. So, the community is ready now to percelate the land and make it reach every family in the community and that is what we are doing.
"Each time these people want to attract people’s sympathy into this case, they will start calling names of persons like Senator Anyim Pius Anyim because they know that he is a Distinguished man. So, they are just calling his name, placing their hands on him so that they will attract sympathy. Anyim is never part of what we are doing, he is not involved in any land matter. He is an indigence of Amagu and anything that Amagu is doing, he is supposed to follow them and do it but he is not involved in this particular thing the community is doing. What we are doing is the brain child of the community, it is not the brain child of any individual. So, anybody calling his name is just trying to attract public sympathy because they know that when they call his name, his detractors will start saying this man has come again to do this and that. So, Anyim is never involved in this matter”.
Also, the Traditional Ruler of Amagu Community, Ishiagu, Ivo local government area of Ebonyi state, Chief Godffery Makwo, yesterday told settlers in Ovumte land settlement in the area that they should not push the community to curse them if they continue to oppose the parcellation of the settlement.
The people of Amagu and some persons in the community known as settlers have been having issues over parcellation of Ovumte land.
Some persons were said to have been injured while the machine used in parcellating the land were said to have been destroyed leading to tension in the area.
Chief Makwe who spoke to journalists, frowned at the attitude of the settlers and threatened that elders of the community would be forced to lay curse against anyone opposing the community on the parcellation of Ovumte land should such person don’t retrace his/her steps.
He said “I am 73 years and this is my 27th year as the Chief of this community which the entire Amagu community gave to me. My father is late and he told me that Ovumte land settlement belongs to Amagu and to the best of my knowledge, right from time our ancestors agreed that if you want to live here, don’t plant anything and even if you do and your brother wants to erect house, remove it. The settlers know this. The true story is that Ovumte belongs to Amagu.
“There is a play ground in our community known as Ogbuji where decisions are taken and the decision we take will be agreed upon. We are only pitying these sets of people because there is a custom that we will do and all those people that are fighting this community will have themselves to blame. If we hit our walking stick on the ground for them, they will suffer. They should not push us to do this. Recently, something happened in Okposi, Ohaozara local government area and the people of Okposi went to their traditional place and this this and something happened. So, we pray that we will not be dragged to do this.