By Sixtus Uket (Calabar)
The Cross River State House of Assembly has called on the State Government through the office of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Cocoa Development, Dr. Oscar Ofuka, to urgently pay Landlord Communities of Cocoa Estates in Etung Local Government Area their rent arrears of N12.5 million.
The Lawmakers also ordered Dr Ofuka to rescind his decision to carry out fresh allocation of Cocoa farms as well as furnish the House of Assembly with all financial records of Cocoa allocations from 2019 to date.
The call followed the recent adoption of a-3 paragraph resolution after the consideration of the report of the Special Committee on a matter of urgent public interest constituted to investigate the activities of the Special Adviser which allegedly caused a breach of peace in Etung Local Government Area of the State.
The House further restrained farmers and investors in cocoa business in the State to stop further engagements with Dr. Ofuka while all payments of rent to cocoa Landlord communities including arrears should be done through the office of the Accountant General and not SmartGov.
Presenting the report, the Chairman of the Special Committee, Rt Hon Charles Ekpe, recalled that in October 2022, the Member representing Etung State Constituency, Hon. Chris Ogar raised a matter of urgent public importance on the irregularities in cocoa allocation by the Special Adviser resulting to disagreements with the Landlord Communities.
“Subsequently the House set up the Special Committee to investigate the matter with a view to bringing peace between the Special Adviser and Landlord Communities,” he said.
Rt. Hon. Ekpe explained that the Special Committee interfaced with different stakeholders including the Special Adviser on Cocoa Development, Commissioner for Agricultural Resources, Paramount Ruler and Chairman Etung Local Government Area, amongst others and ascertained that the Landlord Communities were actually being owed the stated sum, but that instead of settling the indebtedness, the Special Adviser rather proceeded with fresh allocations.
The report, however, indicated that, records of payments from sales of allocation forms were not found at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Consequently, the House condemned the abnormalities and called on the Special Adviser to furnish it with all financial records of cocoa allocations from 2019 till date to avoid sanctions.
In a related development, the State House of Assembly has confirmed the nominee of the State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, Mr. Udiba Effiong Udiba, for appointment as Commissioner and member of the State Executive Council (SEC).
The Lawmakers unanimously voted for the confirmation of the nominee after the adoption of the report of the House Committee on Judiciary, Public Service Matters, Public Petitions and Ethics which was earlier mandated to screen the nominee.
According to the report, the Governor’s nomination was in compliance with section 122(2) as well as section 14(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
In their separate contributions, the Lawmakers had observed that the nominee, who until his recent nomination was the Director General of the State Bureau of Public Private Partnership (BPP), was qualified for the appointment.
They commended Governor Ayade’s choice of Udiba who they said, “is well versed in financial services, and is a certified Public Private Partnership Professional and a strong Corporate and Investment Banker.”
In his remarks, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Eteng Jonah Williams urged the nominee to work hard to justify the confidence that the State Governor has reposed in him while congratulating him on the appointment.
