…Restates commitment to neutrality, openness in land tussle
The Ekiti State Government, on Monday, ordered the reconstitution of a new committee to resolve the lingering land crisis between Ido and Osi Ekiti, in Ido/Osi Local Government Area of the state, to prevent the bedlam from festering to a large scale violence.
The government said, the action became expedient, sequel to wholesome rejection of the recommendations contained in the report of the Ekiti State Boundary Technical Committee by Osi Ekiti, that the land under contention should be shared between the two towns, or be acquired by government for agricultural purpose.
According to a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Victor Ogunje, Mrs Afuye, said this in Ado Ekiti, while meditating in a land dispute between Olotu family of Osi Ekiti and Ejemu dynasty of Ido Ekiti.
To nip the matter in the bud permanently, Mrs Afuye, said the new committee, which be constituted by the Ido/Osi Local Government, which has jurisdictional powers, will have experts from the office of Surveyor General, representatives of the two communities, traditional rulers and security agencies.
Mrs Afuye appealed to the communities to cooperate with the new committee and promote peace, in line with Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s policy thrust of peace building among all the citizens and towns across the state.
Mrs Afuye, said: “Since Osi Ekiti said they are not going to take the recommendation of the technical committee’s report earlier done, we are going to set up another committee to interact with the two families in the matter.
“In order to resolve this matter once and for all, we are going to contact the local government to constitute a committee from the Council and experts from the office of the Surveyor General will join, to be able to get a recommendation that will be acceptable to all sides.
“We are not in favour of anyone in this matter. Our action exemplified commitment to unity and peace building between these two towns. We need a proper report on this matter and that is what we are trying to achieve”.
In his briefing, the Ekiti State Surveyor General, Surv. Adebayo Faleto, proposed that the crisis can be nipped in the bud through the spirit of give and take, saying if the families can’t settle, that the land will be acquired by government for agricultural purpose.
Faleto stated that the two cadastral mapping done by the governments of Dr Kayode Fayemi and the current Biodun Oyebanji-led administration tallied, which further accentuated the claim that the technical committee was unbiased in the matter.
“We have always been neutral in our judgement. The land under contention can be divided between the two families. But if they fail to reach agreement, the government can acquire the land for plantation agriculture to resolve the matter eternally”, he said.
Speaking for the Ejemu family of Ido Ekiti, Engr. Olusesan Falae, was vehement in his claim that the land belonged to the family, saying the local government had visited the place and recommended that the land was genuinely owned by them.
In his defence, Falae averred that the family, had submitted the recommendation of the technical committee of May 17,1998, which favoured Ido Ekiti in the matter, besides the one presented by Ido/ Osi Local government in 1999, that also tilted towards the family in terms of ownership.
“In 1998 and 2018, the recommendations of the Ekiti State technical committee and the Local Government were that the land belonged to Ido Ekiti. Several farmers on the land and those who were from Osi Ekiti owned up that the land under contention belongs to us, there is no confusion about this”, he maintained.
Disputing Ido’s claim, the spokesperson of Olotu family of Osi Ekiti, Mr. Kayode Eniola and Chief Babatunde Odetola, said the land had been occupied by Ido Ekiti illegally for years, which they said fueled agitations that such arbitrary possession should be addressed to avert bloodshed.
They said the recommendation by Ido Osi Local Government in its report of 1999 was biased on the premise that no Osi Ekiti person was represented in the Land Dispute Committee.
“How could they have set up a committee without deferring to us? This we believed was biased and wrong, so we can’t accept the recommendation contained therein”, they stated.