Land Recovery: You thanked Imo Gov in hurry , Anokam tells FUTO V-C

ESV Sam Anokam, the reputable Estate Surveyor and Valuer, who is the Arthorney of FUTO host communities, has said that the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, was in a hurry in the statement accredited to her, where she thanked Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State for recovering FUTO land from those she described as land grabbers.
Reacting to the statement while addressing journalists in his Wetheral Road office last Wednesday, Anokam maintained that the Vice Chancellor should follow the existing laid down due process in the FUTO land matter than bask in the so – called land recovery which, according to him is rather spurious.
Said he: “You have to allow due process of the law. You can’t recover what have not been paid for. You have come to price the commodity to buy, you haven’t bought it and you want to take over and you call it recovery. If you are recovering what you don’t have access to by way of purchase, then you are stealing. So, you can’t congratulate Governor to help you to steal.”
Anokam also stated that the land recovery process embarked upon by the present Imo State Government led by Senator Hope Uzodinma is necessary so as to sanitize the land allocation process, which he said was bastardized by the previous administration of Owelle Rochas Okorocha.
He further said: “Land use is subject to government control because given the population on land and if you don’t control the use of land, then the crises it will generate will be much.
“So, we lost this process following the administration of Rochas. So, it is proper to recover and correct all those illegalities at a time and situate them properly.”
Anokam also advised that the state government ought to set up a mediating machinery to take care of the crises which could erupt, should those listed by the Land Recovery Implementation Committee go to confront those occupying the land they are to recover, on their own.
Anokam further said: “They spent billions and millions and started building. So, government should bend backwards to look at it and say how do we look at the man who has made that investment and at least assuage his feelings and how do we earn revenue from the process, instead of going all out with destruction.”
The Estate Surveyor also hinted that if government should go by the recommendation of demolition by the Implementation Committee, that the state will be littered with demolition sites which, according to him, is not in the interest of Imo people. He, therefore, insisted that government should find a way of making sure that the recovery process does not create unbridled crises by bringing the parties involved to reach amicable settlement by what he said could be through punitive cost which will make the present occupants retain his investment while both the former owner and government would equally benefit in the process.