The Ekiti State Government, has appealed to the communities locked in
land disputes to stop resorting to arbitrary legal actions that could
heat up the polity and cause violence.
The government advised the communities to always appear before the
Land Dispute Resolution Committee set up by the government, to
resolve pending issues before proceeding on litigation.
The Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye gave
the appeal in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday, while presiding over a petition
brought by Orun community against the neighboring Ise and Emure Ekiti
over a lingering land crisis among the towns.
The trouble-shooting action was based on a petition dated 28th
November 2018, written by Orun community to the Ekiti State Boundary
Commission under the supervision of the Deputy Governor on the need to
intervene in the matter.
In the petition, Orun community claimed that it remains the original
owner of the land settled on by Emure and Ise and that it sounded
nauseating for the two towns to be encroaching on its lands through
their borders.
Advising the feuding communities, in a statement by her Media
Assistant Victor Ogunje; Mrs Afuye, said the committee has experts and
bureaucrats with deep knowledge about boundary delineation that can
resolve any land crisis between communities.
The Deputy Governor lamented that government has realized that
litigation emanating from land matters often brewed enmity and bad
blood, with potential danger for inter-communal clashes if not nipped
in the bud.
She stressed that allowing the committee to handle some of the cases
would mitigate the crises in some of the communities.
Mrs Afuye said: “We have listened to all of you and one thing you must
not joke with is peace in our different communities we need peace in
all the 16 local governments, because without it we can’t have
development.
If you look at the three towns, you are closely knitted and you have
inter-married , so there is a need for you to live in harmony.
When there is commotion, nobody ever knows the end. Therefore, we must
learn how to cohabit peacefully and that is the ultimate objective of
our Governor, Biodun Oyebanji.
You had been to court in the past, and another issue is rearing its
head now. I appeal to you to allow our committee to visit the
contentious areas and come up with its report.
Don’t just go to court without taking the option of appearing before
this committee, it was meant to ensure peace in our towns”.
Meanwhile, Mrs Afuye has given the committee three weeks to conclude
its work, which involve visiting the disputed areas, interact with
the communities and come up with its findings to guide the government
properly.
