By Dickson Omobola
Ogun-Guadong Free Trade Zone Limited, OGFTZ, has said it didn’t forcefully takeover 158 hectares of land belonging to 13 indigent families in Igbesa, Ogun State.
The organisation said the land was allocated from the 8000 hectares acquired for the Ogun Property Investment Company, OPIC, by the Ogun State government over 20 years ago.
Kabiru Ajayi, senior special assistant to Hadjia Hafsat Tafawa-Balewa Oduwole, chairman of the company’s board of directors, insisted that the Chinese partners in the Free Trade Zone had nothing to do with either land purchases or acquisition.
Addressing newsmen, Ajayi said the land in question was taken from the 8000 hectares acquired for the Ogun Property Investment Company, OPIC, by the state government over two decades ago and 2000.407 hectares given to the Ogun-Guadong Free Trade Zone as the government’s equity contribution in the partnership with China-Africa Investment FZ Company, while also presenting relevant documents including the ‘C of O’.
Last week, a group of protesters under the aegis of Concerned LandOwners Association expressed their grievances against Chinese companies operating in the Free Trade Zone area of encroachment of their land, saying they used policemen, Army, DSS, to forcefully take over the land from them beyond what was officially allotted them in 2007.
The protesters claimed that the Chinese companies had destroyed their houses, cottage industries, livestock farms, farmlands, schools, religious places and other structures.
Meanwhile, Ajayi said: “You need to ask the protesters to present the ‘C of O’ of the 650 hectares of land that they claimed was given to the State Government and I can tell you they would not be able to provide it, because it is a fabrication from the figment of their imagination.”
Also, Jamiu Ajidaba, head of Iludofin, said: “Any agitator should be ignored because they do not represent our interest, in 2007, the government enumerated those affected by the acquisition of the 2000.407 hectares of land and in 2008 paid compensation to those that presented themselves. Aside from this, the Company operating in the FTZ have being involved with several empowerment programmes and beneficial projects for the community.”
OGFTZ also stated: “Our attention has been drawn to a misleading and malicious publication currently circulating online, riddled with falsehoods, distortions, and outright misinformation. The content is not only baseless but appears to be a deliberate attempt to incite unrest and discredit the operations of the Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade Zone, Igbesa, Ado-Odo/Ota, Ogun State.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade Zone is a landmark joint investment initiative between the Ogun State government and Chinese government (Guangdong Province). The land in question was acquired a long time ago by the Ogun State government and out of which 2000.407 hectares of the acquired land was allocated to Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone. The Ogun State government issued a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) immediately after the allocation. The land allocated by the Government is the equity contribution of the Ogun State government being one of the major stakeholders and shareholders of Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone.”
The post Land dispute: OGFTZ dismisses protesters’ claims appeared first on Vanguard News.
