By Chuks Eke
Authorities of Onitsha South Local Government Area of Anambra state have vowed to recover over N5.299 billion owed them by the managements of National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA and Julius Berger PLC.
The local council authorities also vowed to recover all their lands illegally acquired or encroached into by those they identified as land speculators and grabbers.
Secretary to the local government, Paul Onuachalla Esq., who disclosed this to newsmen during a press briefing, shortly after conducting newsmen round some area where they alleged were encroached into by some individuals and corporate organizations, said the council authorities would no longer fold their arms and watch land speculators encroach into their territories, adding that areas already encroached into would be recovered instantly.
Onuachalla who spoke on behalf of the local government Chairman, Chief Emeka Joseph Orji, explained that out of the total of N5.299 billion debt owed them, NIWA is accountable to N5.2 billion, while Julius Berger a notable road and building construction giant which
handled the recently completed Second Niger Bridge project with its zonal office domiciled within the jurisdiction of the Onitsha South area council, is indebted to the council to the tune of N99 million.
He noted that over the years, while Julius Berger refused to pay taxes and other revenue sources accrued to the local government, even after issuing them with demand notices, NIWA, on its own parr, embarked on illegal collection of council revenues while exceeding its 100 meter boundary line from the River Niger.
According to Onuachalla, the council scribe, “we want to intimate you about the daylight grabbing of landed property belonging to the Onitsha South local government area and it is quite unfortunate that apparently those involved in the grabbing are those who we believe are well informed with the law and the workings of government when it has to do with tenancy of property”.
” It is on record that Julius Berger has been owing the council arrears of levies for at least four Yeats now and we issued them with our demand notices since September, 2022 but they failed to heed to our demands and each time we made an attempt to enforce payment, they invited soldiers from the Onitsha military cantonment to come and attack and disperse our revenue collectors”.
He noted that the Nigerian Breweries PLC which acquired Life Breweries, producers of Life Lager Beer had seriously encroached into the local government territories by constructing a perimeter fencing beyond 10 meter building line, adding that while they were demolishing the fences that exceeded the 10 meter building line to reclaim the local government land, the Nigerian Breweries management rushed to court and obtained an injunction restraining them from further demolition to reclaim their lands.
He accused both Nigerian Breweries PLC and its neighboring Premier Breweries PLC of meddlesomeness and warned those e described as owners of illegal structures, land grabbers and criminal land speculators to be mindful of the fact that their days are numbered as the council would certainly ensure that the laws of the land reigns supreme, since according yo him, nobody is above the law.
