By IFEOMA AKA

Enugu State Government has inaugurated an Inter-ministerial Committee for property/land reconciliation and compensation in the state.

The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, who inaugurated the committee on Wednesday in Enugu, urged its members to carry out their duties diligently.

Members of the committee include the SSG, as the chairman, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Kingsley Udeh, and Mr Gerald Otiji, the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure.

Others are Mr Uchenna Nwatu, Mr Justus Chime (the Acting Surveyor-General of the state) and Mr Juliet Okonkwo, who will serve as the secretary of the committee.

Prof. Onyia said that the committee was expected to verify all documents related to lands and properties in any designated area assigned for construction and asked them to verify all the constitutionally approved documents.

The SSG urged the committee to reconcile all issues of double allocation and do a thorough verification of all allocations and payments.

According to him, they are to resolve all issues of land acquisition, recommend the amount of compensation to be paid and ensure that the compensation is paid to the right owners.

Responding on behalf of members, the Commissioner for Justice thanked the state government for setting up the committee to deal with land and property matters in the state.

“This government has a human face in whatever it does. We know, we are about to embark on massive infrastructural development from the city to the nooks and crannies of the state.

“And of course, we know that the infrastructural development will from time to time affect the status quo where people live and how people live.

“And we know that when they are affected, there should be mechanism in place to cushion the adverse effect of this development,’’ Udeh added.

He pledged that the committee would discharge its responsibilities creditably to ensure that no one was left behind and free the state from unnecessary litigations. (NAN)

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