By Ozioruva Aliu

BENIN CITY – THE people of Oke-Oroma and Obagie communities in Oredo local government area on Monday protested the continued withholding of their land despite assurances from Governor Monday Okpebholo that he has revoked the ownership of the land from their former owners, who the former government gave the lands to after seizing it from them.

The administration of Godwin Obaseki in 2022 demolished several buildings in that area, accusing the developers of encroaching on government land, and later announced the building of a new Coral City, which was later alleged to have been allocated to his cronies.

Governor Okpebholo, in a meeting with the communities, said the original owners would be profiled and the government would help regularise their ownership. He thereafter set up a committee headed by the Managing Director of the Edo Geoinformation Services (EdoGIS), Dr. Tony Ikpasaja, to carry out the decision of the government.

The protesters said the committee was evasive and trying to give back the land to the same people the former government gave the land to.

Speaking, the Public Relations Officer of Oke-Oroma/Obazagbon Property Developers, Efe Ewemade said “We were here before and the governor addressed us, he set up a committee headed by Dr Tony Ikpasaja, who was asked to do every necessary documentation and the governor mentioned that those people that they registered those companies under were self-made companies by the previous administration and because of that, he had to revoke their C of O.

“All this while we have written to the committee, but we have not got a commendable result. Ever since we have been meeting with the committee, they have had the impression that we cannot neglect those who came from the previous administration. They are the same people that the governor has revoked their C of O, so we are here to give our report to the governor because this is our government.

“We are not ready to go to the streets and protest, but we would rather come here to see the governor and tell him our mind because it seems that the committee is not ready to do the job, the committee is still bent on bringing people who the land was forcefully given.”

Also, a leader of the group, Hon Ojo Collins, said, “There are over 1,200 developers, some with five with one plot, others with five and more, some have up to four houses, they were all destroyed. We have been on this for the past three years. The last time we protested, the former governor locked us up for over one month. We know we now have a governor who is a father to all.

“On the 3rd of June, the committee announced on air that the committee will commence profiling of people from the two communities, but people went there, and they found out that nothing like that happened. Dr Ikpasaja has not responded to us, and we have not received any reply from all the letters we have written.”

Governor Okoebholo, who met the protesters at the government house gate while on his way out, told them to send a three-man delegation that would meet with him and the committee on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Dr. Ikpasaja could not be reached as he was said to be out of town, but a staff member of the committee who said he was not officially permitted to speak, blamed the community members for the suspension of the exercise as he said the people resorted to self-help to profile themselves instead of allowing the committee to do that.