Obaseki on vengeance mission against me – Ize-Iyamu

The All Progressive Congress, APC, governorship candidate in the 2020 guber race in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has described the recent revocation of the Certificate-of-Occupancy, CofO, of his 18 hectares of farmland in Amagba Community as a vengeance mission against him by Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state.

In a lengthy press statement endorsed by John Mayaki, which he signed off as a “Edo State APC Chieftain”, the cleric turned politician described the action as “petty and politically motivated”, an exercise carried out ” in clear violation of legal rights and moral principles”.

“No doubt exists that the state government’s action is driven by a petty, politically motivated feeling of vengeance given the timing and other surrounding circumstances, hence the unrestrained and total condemnation of the move by right-minded actors and seasoned democrats in the state and across the country”, the statement read.

READ ALSO: Buhari humbles Obaseki, as FG takes custody of returning Benin artefacts

To put the record straight over the ownership and acquisition of the farmland, Ize-Iyamu explained that “the case is really a simple matter of abuse of power uniting with desperate opportunism”.

The statement read in parts: “One of such is the emphatic way in which the Amagba community, through the representing elders, reiterated to everyone that Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu duly purchased the land from the community as any other private individual would, therefore discrediting previous propagandist claims of original ownership by the state government and its agents.

“What was skipped, however, was that a sizable portion of the land now brought into dispute by a vindictive government was given to Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu by the revered Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II. This is a fact known to both the state government and the community elders. That they are refusing to acknowledge or honor it, and are in fact laying claims to the portion too, reveals a public disregard and translates into a direct challenge of the monarch’s ownership of the portion so given. As any true Benin son or daughter would agree, this is an outrage.

READ ALSO: Edo: Ize-Iyamu, Audu win at Court of Appeal

“Further, the elders claimed in the statement that the land had not been utilized and is home to thieves, robbers, rapists, and other criminal elements. It is unclear which land they were referring to and whether they had not been mistaken, or confused by the bias they made little efforts to hide, considering that Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu’s land in the community is not only protected by a fence but plays host to several notable structures facilitating various agriculture undertakings which the community, Edo State, and indeed the South-South region have benefited from”.

He disclosed that Ize-Iyamu had actually used the land in question for purely agricultural purposes under the federal government N-Power scheme which conducted agricultural training for candidates selected across the South-south region on the farm.

“Similar to other institutions, churches, private organizations, and notably the Edo State government too. They have all sent students and other individuals to the farm to gain practical knowledge and improve their expertise. Hardly could all of these be done on a territory supposedly playing host to robbers and criminals.

“In fact, as a mark of recognition and gratitude for attracting development to the community with the farm, not least the completion of a previously abandoned electrification project, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu was made an elder of the community despite not being its indigenous member. These are all easily verifiable facts, reports of which are in the public domain, including the portion of land given to Pastor Ize-Iyamu by the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, to the knowledge of the community. Are they also asking the government to revoke the same? Is the ownership of the Oba over the portion of land he gave to Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu also in dispute?