Ogun State to take action against land grabbers– Speaker
The Speaker of Ogun State House of Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo, says the assembly receives an average of 10 petitions daily and 80 per cent of them bordered on land matters.
Oluomo said plans had been concluded to work with the executive arm of the government to create a special task force to stop the activities of land grabbers in the state.
He stated this while featuring on a television programme, tagged, ‘The Surveyors and You,’ anchored by the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors, Ogun State chapter.
The Speaker said ”the assembly would ensure it empowers the task force to handle all complaints against land grabbers.”
Oluomo said that the state anti-land grabbing law has been effective to some extent, but required the cooperation of all the stakeholders to be more functional.
He stated that ”there have been a series of enlightenment campaigns to enable the public to have proper information on the law.
”The assembly has sent copies of the law to all the traditional institutions and Baales to make them aware of its existence.”
The Speaker assured the people that the government would create an agency that would implement the law to the letter.
His words, “We are looking at how we are going to create a law that will establish a Special Taskforce that will implement the law to the letter.
“If you look at what the law has achieved so far, the law requires all stakeholders to be functional. It requires the police, landowners and the general public to cooperate and ensure that the activities of the land speculators are checkmated.
“If all of us cooperate and do what is expected, it will reduce land grabbing issue. We received an average of 10 petitions daily and 80 per cent of them are on land matters.
“So we have started discussing with our members on what we can do to allow the issue received the attention it required.”
The Chairman, NIS, Ogun State Chapter, Ademola Adebowale lauded the government for enacting the law, noting that the activities of land grabbers have adversely affected the development of the state.
He added that investors were scared of the land grabbers.
NP/Mercy Chukwudiebere
