Enugu Commissioner of Land and Urban Development Dr. Victor Nnam has described allegation of forgery with respect to land transactions against him as false.
He attributed the allegation to handiwork of desperate land grabbers.
In a statement by his lawyers, Nnam noted the allegation arose since the government took the decision to revoke land in question.
He alleged Private Estate International West Africa were desperately looking for a way to make him a victim of their attempt to forcefully take over an ancestral land without due process.
The statement reads in part: “It is his instruction that it has come to his notice certain media publication suspected to have been sponsored by Private Estates International West Africa Limited, a limited liability company which, the said media publication, claimed to the effect that our client, Dr. Victor Chukwuemeka Nnam, the Honorable Commissioner for Lands and Urban Development, Enugu State has been charged to court for land acquisition and other sundry allegations therewith.
“We will like to state first that our client, Commissioner for Lands and Urban development has never been served with any criminal summons or charge as therein alleged in the publication.
“However, we owe a responsibility to provide the general public with the facts of the matter.
“So if there is anything like that same must have been planted by some mischief makers but until it is made known to our client and same brought to his notice will then take the necessary steps towards it.
“We want to state categorically that as a public officer, the first line of responsibility and allegiance of the Honorable commissioner would remain to the Enugu State Government.
” He will not be beholden to his former clients in the course of his erstwhile private practice or even to land grabbers and will continue to discharge his duties accordingly to ensure sanity in land administration in Enugu State.
“Therefore, any efforts or attempts to malign him and smear his character with false allegations will be highly resisted though within the ambit of the law.
On what constitutes the facts of the matter, the statement explained: “The substantive matter is the revocation of 1’097 Hectares of land at Obeagu/Amechi Awkunanaw covered by building Certificate of Occupancy registered as 20/20/1622 issued to Private Estate International West Africa Limited by Enugu State Government which was said to have been done without due process.
“Private Estates International West Africa Limited, has been laying claim over the parcel of the land allocated to Private Estate International West Africa Limited at Obeagu/Amechi Awkunanaw vide Certificate of Occupancy dated 10th March, 2009 and registered as No. 20/20/1622, Enugu.
“However, ten years after the Certificate of Occupancy was issued, the Enugu State Government observed that the development partnership between Private Estates International West Africa Limited and the State Government was neither presented nor approved by the State Executive Council; consequently, no yellow paper was issued under the seal of the Government of Enugu State to sanction such magnitude of project.
“The said company, Private Estates International West Africa Limited, has been in continuous breach of improvements premium charge of N4, 470,750,000.00 (Four billion, four hundred and seventy million, seven hundred and fifty thousand naira) as contained in conditions of the revoked title as preceding the issuance of Certificate of Occupancy and ground rent totalling N330, 000,000.00 (Three hundred and thirty million naira) only per annum for the past ten years.
“The state government also notes that the said company, Private Estates International West Africa Limited, which has transacted profitably on the land since 2009 till date, has not made any payment to Enugu State Government as proceed or as compensation.
“In addition, the Survey Plan to the Building Certificate of Occupancy bears private survey plan number which is not attributable to Enugu State Survey delineation numbers.
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“Consequently, the Enugu State Government policy on public/private partnership on land development made the land available to the company to build houses and sell at affordable prices to the public, the reason for which premium was deferred, but that the said land has been percellated and spaces allocated to the public, when the ministry remains the allocating authority.
“Further to the above, there was no Building Approval from Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority prior to the construction of buildings in the layout and the grant of Building Certificate of Occupancy to the company was to catalyze urgent development of this area which the company’s current mileage of work and development has grossly undermined, leaving the vast area hugely underdeveloped for close to ten years running.
“In addition, the development control unit of the state has observed that the development so far carried out on the property is not in accordance with Government Approved Layout Plan while the Ministry of Lands observed with dismay that a good number of members of the host community (Amechi and Obeagu) are residing in the land in question, consequently, there have been litany of ongoing litigations between the company, the Government and the community who claim that their Customary Right of Occupancy was not revoked and as such no compensation was paid to them”.
It added: “It should be recalled that in the 1985 Enugu State University of Science and Technology (PLAN EN (A) 594) which was purportedly signed by Late Surv. Igboanugo is dated 1985 when the University was not in existence is an aberration.
“While a notice of an Intention to revoke was served on the company and there was no response from the company. Consequent upon the above infractions, the Building Certificate of Occupancy was revoked by the State Government in order to resolve the issues surrounding the land in question.
“Private Estates International West Africa Limited has gone to court to challenge the legitimacy of the revocation done by Enugu State Government and the matter is yet to be determined.
” To this effect, the court had advised the parties (i.e. Enugu State Government, Private Estates International West Africa Limited, and the Host community) to go and discuss an out of court settlement option.
“It can be recalled that on Saturday 25th July, 2020, the Governor of Enugu State, His Excellency, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, had in a meeting with the parties at the Government House where they discussed possible ways of settlement. The meeting was adjourned for further consultations and discussions”.
The statement urged the general public to disregard the allegations and treat such claims against the commissioner to be an attempt to arm twist the commissioner into serving the interest or for the benefit of few private individuals who are bent on taking advantage of the state and not in the collective interest of Enugu.
