“If anybody has documents whatsoever with my signature for the sale of any land, they should bring it forward and I will abdicate this position. This is how strongly I feel about it”, the traditional ruler of Ogwashi-Uku kingdom, His Royal Majesty (HRM), Obi Ifechukwude Okonjo, has said.
He disclosed that he neither his ancestor are involved in land racketeering, saying “but some of his chiefs did sell lands and what I have done, I am doing a sweeping reform. Those who are involved in land racketeering, I have suspended them and that is why you see a lot of crisis, those who wants to continue in this activity. So if anybody is telling this, know that he is telling on falsehood, it is not just me”, he said.
The reverred traditional ruler made the statement while fielding questions from journalists in his palace in Ogwashi-Uku on allegations bordering on land racketeering levelled against his Palace by aggrieved indigenes.
He wondered why unscrupulous elements would peddle falsehood just to drag people’s names into the mud, “If I am involved in the sale of lands, why would I look into the matter? That will be indicting myself, it doesn’t make sense”, he declared.
He challenged anyone to come with documentary evidence, “let them shoe you documentary evidence. Talk is cheap”, he noted.
He said a lot of people have engaged in land racketeering and vested interest and are against some of the reforms his reign is undertaking.
“What we tried to do, is to stop them from selling our communal lands because the land in question should be used for development purposes”, revealing that he is a development economist.
“One if the things that I want to see, is to how we can convert passive recipients of dispense benefits to active agents of change”, he noted.
