Cross River Deputy Governor meets Ayip Eku Oil Company, host communities to resolve dispute

The Deputy Governor of Cross River State, Honorable Peter Odey has held a crucial meeting with the representatives of Ayip Eku Oil Palm Limited and five Host Communities – Okarara, Iku, Abung, Akor, and New Ndebiji in Akamkpa Local Government Area of the State, to resolve the lingering feud.

Ayib Eku Oil Palm Ltd and the five host communities have been at loggerhead over ownership and entitlement of the palm estate that spans across the five communities.

Hon. Peter Odey while addressing the host communities in a meeting in Calabar advised the company to withhold payment until a proper arrangement is in place.

“Don’t release the money yet. Let the landlord communities meet and agree on the sharing formula and sign. There should be an agreement so that if any of the parties is in breach of what has been agreed the law will take its cause.”

He directed the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Crop and Irrigation Development to facilitate a meeting with representatives of the host communities to enable them brainstorm and agree on a fair and acceptable sharing formula for the royalty expected from the company.

He counselled representatives of the communities to complete the discussion and return with a signed document by all stakeholders.

The number 2 citizen in the state stressed that it was necessary because both the company and the community need to be happy at the end of the day, adding that the company that was paying hundreds of millions to both the government and communities should be given an enabling environment to make profit.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the Board of Ayib Eku Palm Oil Ltd, Mr. John Gaul Lebo, who was accompanied to the meeting by the Managing Director of the Company along with other key management staff praised the proactive approach of the Otu-led administration which has brought to an end the disagreement between the company and the host communities that has lingered over the past10 years.

He disclosed that the company had prepared bank drafts in the sum of N108,000,000 for the host communities and hopes that the impasse that had kept the company from making profits for many years will be put to rest and the company will begin to address important social infrastructure like roads, schools and other development strides instead of dwelling on ground rents.

And responding to a query from the New Ndebiji community about equity in the distribution of the money to be shared by the company, Lebo said the company was allocating funds to the communities based on the land holding as described in the map that the federal government had given to the company showing rivers and valleys between one community and another.

He urged the communities to discuss among themselves about the boundaries to ascertain if it is different from what is contained in the survey plan provided by the federal government.

Ayip Eku Estate Landlords Joint Council on their part called for government intervention to ensure the company begins to actualize the purpose for which it was set up as the communities are still in dire need of infrastructural development despite policy directives by the previous administrations to investors.

By: Archibong Emmanuel
(Snr Reporter)