By Maduabuchi Nmeribeh/Dutse
Jigawa State Governor, Mallam Umar Namadi has constituted a committee to retrieve land and landed properties illegally allocated to individuals and corporate organizations without due process.
The Committee which was inaugurated at the Council Chamber, Government House, will be chaired by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mallam Bala Ibrahim (Mamser).
Governor Namadi said the step was taken to restore order, sanity and due process.
The Governor insisted that his administration will always run an administration based on the ethics of bureaucratic governance.
He vowed not to fail the people of Jigawa state, promising to hold anyone found wanting accountable, no matter how highly placed.
According to him, “Those farmlands and cattle routes that are illegally allocated must be returned to the government. Once you, the Committee members, find out that the land is illegal, that is all that is required.
“The person who claims to own the land should seek the person who sold it to him to get back his money. You are to recognize only pieces of land that are legally and officially allocated.”
He emphasized that the land retrieval committee is part of his administration’s effort to ensure that land that is designated as a cattle grazing route is not encroached on for selfish reasons and therefore reserved to serve its purpose.
He said the objective is to prevent the occurrences of farmer/herder clashes as a result of such encroachment around the state, especially during the rainy season.
Meanwhile, Governor Namadi has tasked the Committee on the investigation into the disbursement of funds to the FADAMA III project farmers, chaired by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Sen. Mustapha Makama, to be steadfast and discharge their duty without fear or favour.
He said: “Some were supposed to get N100,000, some N120,000, others even N200,000. Some were supposed to be dug bore-hole wells. And where money is given instead of bore-holes, you investigate well into such cases. Ours is to make sure that the intended beneficiaries receive the exact amount they were supposed to receive without any reduction or misuse.”
The Secretary to the State Government, Mallam Bala Mamser, on behalf of the co-chairmen and members of the two committees assured the Governor of their willingness to deliver on their assignment.
The co-chairmen are the Commissioner of Land and Regional Planning, Col. Muhammad Ahmad Alhassan, for the land retrieval committee and the State Auditor-General, Alhaji Garba Muhammad, for the FADAMA III project committee.
Other members are the Commissioner of Environment Dr Nura Dandoka, Surveyor-General, State Commissioner of Police Emmanuel Effiong, representative of the Department of State Services (DSS), representative of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), representative of Farmers/Herdsmen Board, and the representative of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Cattle Breeders Association.