The All Progressive Congress, APC, governorship candidate in the 2020 guber race in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has faulted the stance of Amagba community elders who earlier on Sunday hailed Governor Godwin Obaseki for revoking the Certificate-of-Occupancy , CofO, of his 18 hectares of farmland in the community.

Ize-Iyamu, who reacted to the statement issued by the Amagba community in regards to the governor’s action, described the revocation as “petty and politically motivated”, an exercise carried out “in clear violation of legal rights and moral principles “.

In a lengthy press statement endorsed by John Mayaki, which he signed off as a “Edo State APC Chieftain”, the cleric turned politician warned that since the matter had become an issue before the law, the Amagba community elders who endorsed the earlier statement, risked being charged for contempt as the matter had become sub judice.

Mayaki, who was APC Director of Media for the Ize-Iyamu Campaign Organisation during the September 19, 2020 governorship race, inferred that the timing and the circumstances of the revocation of the farmland gave credence to the widely held opinion that Governor Obaseki was on a vengeance mission against Ize-Iyamu.

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“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.

He continues, “In issuing the statement, particularly now that the matter is now a case of law, these elders have exposed themselves to accusations and possible charges of running afoul of the law of sub judice which prohibits public discussions, particularly those laced with personal bias and poorly-concealed agenda, on issues under judicial consideration”, Mayaki warned.

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.

“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.

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“Indeed, they conceded that the land in question was “awarded to him (Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu) by the community”, effectively retiring and putting paid to the mischievous and calculated lie promoted by the government that it owned the land and that Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, by some sleight of hand, wrestled its ownership from it. No community can preside over nor sell a piece of land owned by the government to any individual. This is a fact we call agree on.

“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.

“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”.

To buttress the fact that Ize-Iyamu had actually used the land in question for purely agricultural purposes, the statement added that “the Federal Government, under the N-POWER scheme, has twice 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.

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“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?

“If truly there was a case of encroachment and ‘domination’ as alleged in the statement, how come the community has not approached the courts for arbitration, instead of doing what could now be reasonably interpreted as manipulating and riding on the vindictive feelings of an aggrieved political character who is bent on using the instruments of state to inflict retributive damage on his opponents?”

The statement submitted that, “once sold, the ownership of any possession, including lands, changes hands. Should the original owner run into hard times and in desperate need of a windfall, the right approach is to seek inventive means of revenue generation, not devote efforts to back-door repossession of that which has been sold and handed over for yet another auction. It is illegal and immoral.

“And by instigating and sponsoring these efforts, the state government is causing a big dent in the state’s investment viability as no investor commits funds in environments where laws are treated as secondary to personal sentiments and legal ownership of properties are revoked, frivolously, to avenge perceived slights”.

Ize-Iyamu urged Amagba community elders to hold as sacrosanct, the truism that “the voice of elders is important for guidance and peace in every society“, appealing to them “to preserve this moral authority and accorded respect by speaking to the facts and avoid lending themselves to acts of abuse of power in pursuit of personal benefits”.