Enugu Govt. engages in beneficial, community-oriented land acquisition for agricultural purposes – Commissioner

The Enugu State Government says it engages in a win-win land acquisition system for ongoing agricultural initiatives and programmes.

The state’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-industrialisation, Mr Patrick Ubru, told newsmen in Enugu on Friday that “we engage in beneficial and community-oriented land acquisition for agricultural purposes only.”

Ubru observed that the state government,, by an executive order issued by the state governor, Dr Peter Mbah, in 2024, committed to international best practices in agricultural land acquisition.

“By the Executive Order No. 001 of 2024 on the Framework for Responsible and Inclusive Land Intensive Agriculture (FRILIA) signed by Gov. Peter Mbah, the state government had committed itself to international best practices in land acquisition for agricultural purposes,” he said.

It would be recalled that an online medium had published a report falsely accusing Gov. Peter Mbah of moves to buy off some ancestral lands in Eha-Amufu community in Isi-Uzo LGA and hand it over to non-indigenous herders for settlement.

The group also alleged that Gov. Mbah had paid the sum of N30 billion to some leaders of Eha-Amufu community to secure the release their communal lands to the said herders for settlement.

Ubru, however, urged the people of the state to discountenance the report, describing it as “completely fake and mischievous ,” adding that “being a responsible and people-focused government, this administration would not undermine or short-change its people under any guise.”

The commissioner said that the Executive Order had ensured transparency in land acquisition with the consent of the people and to the benefit of all within the same community.

He noted that the Executive Order is a public document that anyone may read in electronic or hard copy to understand how open and transparent Gov. Peter Mbah’s visions and objectives are regarding land acquisition for agricultural purposes.

“The Executive Order ensures that land acquisition and resettlement for large-scale agribusiness investments are undertaken in line with international best practices and guaranteed shared benefits between private investors and host communities.

“The Government of Enugu State is desirous of deepening the state’s agribusiness reforms including delivering a win-win approach to all the relevant stakeholders on agricultural land matters and investment opportunities.

“The FRILIA Executive Order will enhance access to large-scale investments, gainful employment on large-scale farms, sufficient income, and protection from the volatility of agricultural labour and product markets.

“The Framework will ensure adherence to guiding principles covering overarching investment, recognition and protection of land rights, state land acquisition and resettlement, environmental and social responsibility,” he said.

The commissioner noted that in order to achieve the government’s objective of creating an enabling, responsible and inclusive business operating environment for large-scale agribusiness investments in Enugu State through FRILIA, the state government set up other mechanisms to back it up.

“The state government established the FRILIA Steering and Technical Committees with clearly defined functions and powers.

“Others are the establishment of a grievance redress mechanism; and development and adoption of FRILIA Toolkits/Guidelines/Policies or Equivalent,” he added.

Ubru said that Gov. Mbah, being a leader with vision, had clear intentions and programmes to grow the GDP of the state from $4 billion to $30 billion.

He noted that the governor had taken time and opportunities to explain his vision of uplifting the people of the state out of poverty.