Land grabbers are now a threat in Ondo State-Speaker
The Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Chief Olamide Oladiji, says that land grabbers in the state have become a threat to development and investment in the state.
Oladiji stated this on Tuesday during a public hearing on the anti-land grabbing bill at the House of Assembly premises in Akure.
He said that the hearing was necessary to get inputs of major stakeholders in ensuring that there was sanity in the transaction of the landed property in the state.
The speaker stated that if the bill was passed into law, it would give traditional rulers and residents peace of mind.
“ The land grabbers in Ondo State have become a threat to the property acquisition for decades.
“ The high demand of land resulted in Ondo State the activities of land grabbers due to the fact that there is no law in the land prohibiting in checking these activities.
“ If this is passed into law, it will no doubt maintain sanity in the state as necessary sanctions await any land grabbers once he or she is found culpable of committing the offence,” he said.
Also speaking,Hon. Oluwole Ogunmolasuyi, the Majority Leader of the House of the Assembly, said that if the bill was passed into law, it would give the traditional rulers at rest and better the lot of the state.
Ogunmolasuyi, who is also the Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, asked traditional rulers, members of public to contribute their contributions that could add values to the bill.
In his remarks, the sponsor of the bill, Hon. Moyinolorun Ogunwumiju, said residents of the state would benefit immensely from the bill when passed.
Ogunwumiju added that the bill when passed would criminalize land grabbing, and also make sure that the issues of “omo onile” was reduced and taken away totally from the state.
According to him, 88 per cent of cases at courts in the state are related to landed property.
He said that the bill would ensure that there was a task-force backed up by the law enforcement agencies across the state.
Speaking on behalf of the traditional rulers, Oba Luyi Rotimi, Olujigba of Ijigba, described the bill as a good direction and step to address the land grabbing menace in the state.
Rotimi said that encroachment and land grabbing had caused a lot of trauma for many traditional rulers in the different domains, stating that they could not have time to attend to their personal issues but attending to crises emanated from land transactions.
He asked the bill to address buying of land for unspecific purpose and leaving lane property for donkey years without development.
The state Commissioner for Justice, Dr Kayode Ajulo, said that the issue of land grabbing could not be jettisoned.
Ajulo said that land grabbing had driven many potential investors away from the state, applauding the sponsor of the bill.
According to him, the state government is ready to tackle the menace headlong.
“The state government may not shine away from stepping on some toes. Many traditional rulers have caused a lot of problems,” he said
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