14th December, 2021
By Jethro Ibileke
Governor Godwin Obaseki has said that Edo State Government acquired lands in various parts of the State for the overall benefits of the people.
The Governor said this on Tuesday in Benin, at the annual lecture of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Edo State Council.
Obaseki who was represented by his Special Adviser on Media Projects, Crusoe Osagie, at the event, said this in response to allegation that some Governors in the country use the land use Act to acquire lands for themselves and their cronies.
He stated that all land acquired by the State Government are targeted at creating employment and improving the livelihoods of the citizenry in the State.
According to him, “Edo State Government does not acquire property for itself but the people. All decision in that lines is always in the best interest of the State.”
Speaking on the theme, “Menace of land-grabbing and the threat to public peace”, the Keynote Speaker, Barr. Dele Igbinedion, called for the repeal of Land Use Act, which vests land on the State Government.
The Benin-based human rights activist noted the Act was created as an avenue for State Governors to see themselves as the owners of land.
Igbinedion blamed the government, through the instrument of Land Use Act, law enforcement agencies, legal system and the various communities for some of the issues militating against addressing land-grabbing.
Earlier in her welcome address, the Chairman of the Correspondents’ Chapel, Mrs. Nefishetu Yakubu, said the topic was chosen in order to find solution to the menace of land-grabbing because of its attendant effects, especially on the poor people.
She noted that although land-grabbing is a national challenge, land-related crisis has become endemic in Edo State, as buying a piece of land and developing the property has become a herculean task.