By ALEX ENEBELI

The Ugwuaji Awkunanaw Community in Enugu South Council Area of Enugu State has called on Gov. Peter Mbah to intervene in the alleged sale of its ancestral lands by the Enugu State Geographic Information System Service (ENGIS).

The people made the call during a protest held at the Ugwuanyi Community Primary School on Monday.

In a speech, the Traditional Ruler of the community, Eze Chinedu Nwobodo, said that past administrations used the community?s nearness to the state capital to acquire its lands.

Nwobodo said, ?Selling our ancestral lands to strangers will not only render us and our unborn children homeless but make us strangers in our own land.?

He said that the claim that Enugu State Government acquired the community?s remaining lands from Independence Layout Phase Two, through Obeagu Ugwuaji to Akpugo, and from Ndafuine to Idume up to Asata River in the south was unknown to the people.

The royal father lamented that the government?s advertorial ?reallocating the same land to the public at N8 million on the basis of first come, first served?, made their own inheritance unaffordable to his people.

According to him, the State Government has for many years taken their ancestral lands without adequate compensation and the majority of the people are living below poverty line to raise N8 million.

?We are appealing to Gov. Mbah to call ENGIS to order and reconsider reallocating our ancestral lands at Ndafuine, Ugwuaji.

?There is no security issues warranting taking over the lands, divesting them from the aboriginal inheritors and vesting same on individuals outside the original owners.

?The state acquired our lands for Dolphin Estate/Layout of over 6,000 plots, 26 hectares for Building Materials International Market, Independence Layout Phase One and others without compensation,? Nwobodo said.

The community appealed to the Managing Director, ENGIS, Mr Chiwetalu Nwatu, ?to come open and let the community know if there?s government?s plan to relocate them to another place for naturally and unfortunately finding themselves living close to the state capital?.

It regretted that natives in need of lands to build residential houses were over 10 times more than those that own houses.

?And we still have male children below 18 and those yet unborn that would need lands in future,? the community said.

Meanwhile, in an earlier letter to the community through the traditional ruler, Nwatu had requested the royal father to provide the organisation with details of the land allocations within the Ndafuine area.

He stated that adequate information would enable the organisation to determine ownership, owing to the urgency in concluding their investigation on the several land challenges existing at that location which had significantly erased investor confidence.

He said, ?Please we write to inform you that based on the numerous land related and security issues on the parcels of land bothering Independence Layout Phase Two, which led to the government acquisition of some parcels of land in Ugwuaji, Obeagu and Akpugo in 2022, we would like you to provide us with details of the land allocations within the Ndafuine areas.

?This include layout design and details of surveyors involved in respect to the detailed allocation of the properties on or before October.

?We remain committed to working collaboratively towards the development of these locations and Enugu State in general,? Nwatu stated.

Reacting to the protest, he said that the community was only spreading falsehood, adding that government would hold a press conference to clarify the issue. (NAN)

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