The people of Burutu community in Delta State have petitioned President
Goodluck Jonathan and the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar,
over alleged sale of their land occupied by the Nigeria Port Authority
(NPA) in Burutu.
The community, in a letter written by its lawyers, M.E. Ukusare and
Associates, entitled: ‘Burutu Community Lands/Property Occupied by
Nigeria Port Authority in Burutu, Delta State’ and made available to
THISDAY in Lagos yesterday alleged that the Chief Executive Officer of
Akewa Global Services Limited, Chief Kenneth Donye, was laying claims to
a vast array of Burutu community property, which he (Donye) alleged had
been bought by his company from the federal government
The people said there was never a time their property was sold to the government, group or any individual and wondered why Donye, who was among the people who challenged the move by the Federal Ministry of Transport to auction the property currently occupied by over 1,000 indigenes and non- indigenes of Burutu, should now turned around to be the buyer.
The letter stated that Donye had, through a letter to chairman of
Burutu community and copied to the President, Burutu Youth Forum in the
state, intimated them that his company had bought a list of 21 units of
property at the Burutu Port Yard, from the federal government.
While questioning the legality of the purported sale of the property,
the community however, implored President Jonathan and the Minister of
Transport to “call Donye to order, as it is impossible for an individual
to lay claims to ownership of more than three quarter of the entire
Burutu community.
And also, review the purported sale of the community’s property
occupied by the NPA with a view to ascertaining the true state of
affairs of the said property vis-a-vis Donye’s alleged ownership
claims.”
The letter said the community wanted the government to “pay the Burutu
community people the accumulated ground rent due to them since 1968 when
the last rent was paid by the United Africa Company Nigeria (UACN) at
the rate of twenty pounds or its equivalent in naira from 1968 till
date.
“And return all lands/property occupied by the NPA in Burutu to the
members/people of Burutu community in the event that the Federal
Government of Nigeria no longer need same for public use.”
