The crisis in the Rivers State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party has taken a new twist as the Governor Wike-led Government has confirmed the revocation of the Certificate of Occupancy of land allocated to former Senator Lee Maeba at the Golf Course axis of GRA in Port Harcourt.
Africa Today News, New York reports that Senator Maeba who is a staunch supporter of the People’s Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. Maeba is the current chairman of the party’s presidential campaign council in Rivers State.
Maeba, a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Austin Opara, former governor of the state (now de-recognised) Sir Celestine Omehia, and a serving member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Chinyere Igwe, whose filling station was sealed, fell out of favour with the governor after they visited Atiku soon after his emergence as the candidate.
The revocation order was conveyed in a letter addressed to Senator Maeba on November 2, 2022.
The letter was signed by Ochiagha Onyebuchi, the acting Director, Head of Department, Acquisition, Valuation and Compensation, Ministry of Lands and Survey, on behalf of the Permanent Secretary.
The letter was titled ‘Re: Allocation of Plot 20A Golf Course Layout, Old GRA Port Harcourt.‘
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It read, ‘I am directed to inform you that your allocation at Plot 20A Golf Course Layout, old GRA, Port Harcourt, has been cancelled as shown on the attached Rivers State Official Gazette No. 22 Vol. 58, dated September 20, 2022.
‘Please accept the warm regards of the Permanent Secretary.’
However, when contacted, Maeba expressed surprise at the development in a terse message to our correspondent, saying, ‘How can a governor grant a certificate of occupancy and withdraw it six months later?’
He said the land was allocated to him with a Certificate of Occupancy duly signed by Governor Wike himself.
The former senator who represented the Rivers South-East District in the National Assembly in the said C of O made available to our correspondent on Thursday shows the certificate number as 2022/0009/A803005, with file number as RSL/64872
The certificate of occupancy was titled The Government of Rivers State of Nigeria — The Land Use Act Caps vol. 8 len, 2004 carried an embossed colour portrait photo of Senator Maeba.