Aged women from the Ishinkwo community, in the Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, on Monday, staged a peaceful protest over alleged fraudulent activities by government officials involved in the ongoing land demarcation exercise between their community and the neighbouring Abaomege community.

The Ebonyi State government in its efforts to permanently end the intractable land dispute between Ishinkwo and Abaomege communities in Onicha local council area, commenced demarcation of the disputed land as part of terms of settlement contained in the released government White Paper.

The women, who stormed the Old Government House, Abakaliki, carrying placards with different inscriptions such as ?Governor Nwifuru, Father of the State, Please, Come to Our Aid,? ?Where is the Map Attached to the White Paper?,? ?Enough is Enough On Land Grabbing, Follow the White Paper,? ?Ekeroku, Stop Taking Sides and be Neutral,? ?Return Ugwuekuma Primary School to Ishinkwo, It?s Our Ancient Land Mark,? among others, called on Governor Nwifuru to intervene.

The women, who also marched to the state House of Assembly complex to register their complaints, accused the council chairman of Onicha LGA, Mr Ikechukwu Ogboffia of allegedly colluding with the land demarcation committee to grab Ishinkwo land for his Abaomege community.

In an open letter addressed to Governor Francis Nwifuru, signed by the National President of the women wing of Ishinkwo Community Development Union, Mrs Fidelia Nworie and 12 others, which they made available to journalists, the women alleged that the ongoing demarcation exercise is fundamentally flawed, totally skewed, and was capable of breaching the peace-building efforts of the government.

They accused the deputy Surveyor General of the state, Mr Henry Ekeroku of executing the demarcation exercise without reference to the White Paper, the legal basis of the exercise, which according to them, renders the exercise illegal, null, and void, as no one can place something on nothing and expect it to stand.

The women said, ?The demarcation is being executed without reference to the White Paper, the legal basis of the exercise, which renders the exercise illegal, null, and void, as no one can place something on nothing and expect it to stand.

?The survey map, which is a critical component of the White Paper, has also been disregarded by the deputy Surveyor-General of the state, Mr. Ekeroku. Despite all our entreaties, Mr. Ekeroku has blatantly refused to make the map available to guide the demarcation, choosing instead to rely on intuition.

?The actions of Mr Ekeroku and Mr Ogboffia have not only undermined the peace process but have also created an atmosphere of mistrust and suspicion. We request Your Excellency to intervene to reinvigorate the peacebuilding.?

Reacting, the chairman of Onicha Local Government Area, Hon. Ogboffi called for peace and denied allegations of land grabbing.

He said, ?I call for peace from the two communities. It?s important to embrace the peace instead of engaging in actions capable of truncating the peace efforts of the Ebonyi State government.? (The PUNCH)

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