… gives condition

By Femi Bolaji

Host Community of the Mambilla Beverage (Nig) Limited, on the Mambilla plateau, Tuesday rejected the decision of Taraba State Government to privatize the Tea Company.  

The State government already said it had commenced sensitization on the privatization of the state owned firm.

The host communities however in a statement Tuesday, spelt out conditions to be met by the state government if it insists on privatizing the state owned tea company.

The statement was signed by Chairman and Secretary of the host communities, Abdullahi Abdulkarim and Usman Laido.

According to the community, “If, the government remains committed to disposing the company in a hurry, then the following must be in place: –

“The audited accounts of the Company should be honestly and transparently made public.

“The host Community should be engaged. A town hall meeting and discussion be convened with the host community on this matter.  

“The dictatorial and tyranny-suggesting talk of Government alone owns the company smacks of mal-governance and crudity of the medieval fiefdoms and 19th century tyrannies.

“The host community must be reserved 80% (NOT LESS THAN 60%) of the shares in the company.

“The host community must be compensated for their lands taken over since 1975 and be paid the cumulative value to date at current rate.

“We demand the reconstruction of the bridge linking Kakara to Nguroje which was deconstructed and blocked the waterways and flooded our farms.

“So far, neither the company nor the government has cared about the plight of the people over this.

“We demand the payment of all outstanding backlogs of salaries/wages of all workers laid off or still in service, running to 3 years of unpaid emoluments as specified” among others.  

The host communities further noted that “If these conditions are not satisfied and the Government just wants to sell off or buy off whichever the body language portrays now, we shall not swallow the bitter pills like voiceless subjects of an obdurate autocracy again.

 “We shall not be part of any arrangements made to surreptitiously and uncannily corner the company which holds much for our future in this land.“