The paramount ruler of Etung Local Government Area, Ntui Atue, Dr Emmanuel Oru, has commended the United Nations World Peace Advocates and the special adviser to Governor Ben Ayade, Oscar Ofuka, for fairly allocating cocoa estates to their people.
He said he was happy to see that more than 70 per cent of the residents benefitted from it.
Ntui made the commendation at his palace during a reception to honour both Ofuka and members of the UN World Peace Advocates.
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The monarch said this was the first time the allocation would be done without rancour and violence, which characterised the exercise in the past.
He said, “The allocation of the cocoa estates, which will see 70 per cent of the allocation go to land owners and 30 per cent to the government, will guarantee peace and end the litigation by the community against the government.
“The community agreed that 70 per cent of the estates should go to the community, while 30 per cent goes to the government, and this was done.
“Everyone in the community is happy that the allocation of Oscar Ofuka is the best.
“You are our son and did wonderfully. Since we started allocation, no one has done as much as you did. People of Etung are clapping their hands because the allocation touched everybody,” the monarch said.
Dr Ofuka said they adopted a radical approach in the allocation to avoid mistakes of the past, which brought dissatisfaction.
He said the idea was to encourage mass participation in cocoa cultivation and end disputes with land owners.
“Before this time, cocoa was given to political elites and treated as political gain, so we had to adopt a radical approach to ensure a fair distribution,’’ he said.
He said the old estates were being reactivated to guarantee maximum yield, and 10million improved seedlings had been cultivated and would be planted across the state.
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