By Our Correspondent
The CEO Pineleaf Estate Homes and Properties Ltd, Bishop Dr. Onyeka Nzekwesi, has debunked a social media publication which partly reads “Anambra Family Laments Intimidation, Harassment by Estate Developer, Seeks Soludo’s Intervention to restrain Bishop Onyeka Nzekwesi from further harassing Okwesi Family of Awkuzu in Oyi LGA on their own property” describing it as false, mere cheap propaganda meant to attract sympathy to a notorious family which is the architect of their own troubles.
Addressing newsmen at his country home Eziowelle, Idemili North LGA Anambra State, Bishop Onyeka Nzekwesi said that Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State has already intervened in the said expanse of land which the Okwesi Family have been claiming ownership of, lauding His Excellency for maintaining peace and order at different communities in the state which could have been embattled in inter communal conflicts if not the selfless intervention of the Boundary Committee headed by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Onyeka Ibezim.
According to Bishop Nzekwesi, this kind of cheap propaganda has made many estate developers to leave Anambra State. That is why you still see many bushes around Anambra State undeveloped because of extortion, greed, deception and craftiness of people like the Okwesi Family who accuse people as land grabbers while they are the real land grabbers who boasted that their late father, a Native Doctor was a thief who forcefully amassed lands to himself scaring people and communities away with his charms.
“The Okwesi Family of Awkuzu Community went with my uncle to show him an expanse of land for sale claiming that the whole land was their family land even swearing that the land was not under dispute.
“As my custom is, I did advertisement about the land and three communities which include Awkuzu, Umunya and Ifitedunu came out and started claiming ownership of parts of the same land which run into acres.
“We negotiated with the authorities of the three communities involved and paid them for the same expanse of land for peace to reign.
“When Okwesi Family saw that we have initiated peace process with all three communities involved and was about accessing the land, the Okwesi Family brought another set of people saying that they had already sold the same land to them.
“We warned those group to stay away from the land because it is in dispute moreso, Ifitedunu has used the judgement they obtained from court to approach the Anambra State Boundary Committee which is presently demarcating the same land fixing registered beacons along community boundaries with the original map of Anambra state from the Ministry of lands.
“Before now, Okwesi Family invited me to Ike Dunu’s house at Ifitedunu community lamenting that the money given to their family by their community, Awkuzu from the money I paid for the land was not big enough as the self acclaimed direct owners of the land.
“Hearing their plea, in my magnanimity and to follow peace with all men, I offered to give Okwesi Family an additional 200 million naira, but out of greed they rejected the offer, demanding 350 million naira for a land I had earlier completed and concluded its payment to three different communities at their own prices. By the time they came to their senses and started calling me, I had already changed my mind and told them to revert to their community for their share of the proceeds from the land sale because I am not owing anyone.
“Okwesi Family defied the State Government Boundary Committee intervention, went into the land in dispute and started reselling the land to provoke communal clashes that may result to bloodshed.
“Okwesi Family now has the State Government to contend with anytime they trespass the land and not me. Government is placing boundary demarcation beacons at the land and kept people there. Government does not even know me regarding this land matter. I have not even entered the said land.
“Are they writing a publication requesting Prof. Soludo to intervene when he has already intervened through his Deputy who had already invited the three communities to make peace and demarcate the land boundaries.
“When I offered Okwesi Family 200 million naira they refused boasting that they have somebody in Abuja who is backing them to foment trouble. They are fighting their own Awkuzu community claiming that their family land is bigger than the land owned by the whole community, they are also quarrelling with Umunya and Ifitedunu communities including Anambra State Government. We are still waiting for their highly connected Abuja family member to show himself.
“I know how to take possession of my land. I am just waiting for the State Government boundary committee to finish and I will approach the three communities to hand over the land to me or they refund me if they no longer want to sell.
“Pineleaf will not run away like other Estate Developers. ‘We dey Gidigbam’. Our vision is to transform every bush in the South East and South Southern Nigeria into adorable buildings and aesthetic estates that will be a tourist attraction.
“If there are people sponsoring Igbos not to come home and develop Igboland, Pineleaf Estate Homes Ltd is a match for them. People who know Pineleaf Estate as a proven name have been offering us expanse of land at Abuja, Lagos and Northern Nigeria to build houses so that Igbo people will come to their states and reside but we refused.
“Our brand is for our people. We are very serious and passionate about real estate. If you travel to other states and see beautiful estates, they will tell you they are owned by Igbos, but it is not like that in the South East because developers are afraid of the likes of Okwesi Family. In Anambra, there is no land we purchased which was not paid for twice or three times just to avoid land case.
“Sometimes ago, the relatives of this person calling somebody land grabber went into the land to steal people’s property and they were apprehended with weapons, they called me around 10 pm begging me to intervene, which I did, explaining to the police how they initially showed us the land, before SARS released the suspects immediately.
“Do you know that after three days, they went and made a publication that I was intimidating their family members with police, claiming that it was their powerful family member at Abuja that intervened for the release of those boys caught vandalizing people’s property in the land. Okwesi Family boasted that the same powerful man was backing them instigating them to fight their own Awkuzu community, Umunya and Ifitedunu communities and to fight state government.
“In fact, I am inviting that person calling us land grabbers from Okwesi Family to come up live on air at GBAM Online TV for a debate let’s iron things out there and let the world see how someone accused of land grabbing could have paid three Communities money for the same land instead of using the money to make trouble. So that people can phone-in during the online TV program from their own Awkuzu community and tell the world who is the real land grabber. Okwesi Family can equally seize the opportunity to boast of their late father and tell the world how they claimed he allegedly stole that expanse of land pursuing everyone with charms and acquired the land without a single document,” said Nzekwesi.
However, Bishop Onyeka Nzekwesi eulogized Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration for not dabbling into or forcefully dispossessing original land owners, people or communities of their lands but rather intervenes to maintain peace whenever there is conflict, to avert crises.
“I cannot stop thanking Governor Chukwuma Soludo and his Deputy, Dr. Onyeka Ibezim, for their prompt and selfless interventions to ensure peaceful coexistence between communities and their neighbours. We could have been hearing of blood shed, communal clashes in different communities because of land dispute if not for the Boundary Committee.
“Soludo’s administration is protecting lives and property. He neither wants to hear of crises nor is he interested in dispossessing anyone of his land. This is the reason why I said that he deserves a second term in office because he provides solutions along different sectors,” Nzekwesi concluded.
