Motion of Urgent Public Interest By Rt. Hon. Dr Itam Abang Suspends Acquisition of 9000 Hectares of Land In Cross River

The member representing Boki 1 Constituency in the Cross River State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Dr Itam Abang moved a motion of Urgent Public Interest today that suspended the State Government's move to acquire 9000 hectares of land from the three senatorial districts of the State.

In her prayers before the floor of the house, the Rt. Hon. Member prayed the house to also suspend the Taskforce Committee saddled with the responsibility of facilitating the acquisition process. The prayers further demanded the Chairman of the said taskforce committee to appear before the house to explain the purpose for the proposed land acquisition.

The motion which stirred a rowdy plenary session among members had all its prayers adopted to resolutions, and an order to invite the land acquisition Taskforce Chairman to appear before the house was subsequently  issued by the Speaker of the the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Eteng Joans.

While fielding questions from the press after the plenary, the Rt. Hon. Dr Itam Abang told a group of journalists that she had received a distress call from the Paramount Ruler of Boki informing her of a visit by a group of persons who identified themselves as The State Taskforce on the Governor’s directive to acquire lands for Agricultural purposes and farm settlements. The Paramount Ruler being privy to the Federal government's RUGA abracadabra, was worried and decided to reach out to one of his Representatives in the State Assembly.

The Rt Honorable maintained that landed issues were too vulnerable and fragile to Peaceful conditions and as such, needed to be handled with wisdom, as she commended her Honorable colleagues for standing by the prayers of her motion to suspend the exercise until more clarification is made to the matter.