The Cross River State government may revoke the title to 12,400 hectares of Ayi Eku oil palm estate in Akamkpa LGA operated by Ningsong M-House Palm Oil Ltd reportedly owned by former Senate President, Bukola Saraki.
This follows complaints of neglect of the vast estate which has reportedly become fallow by residents of the area.
Ayi Eku Oil Palm Estate was privatised in 2007 under the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Saraki's firm allegedly got the title to the estate.
Now, the Cross River State government has given the investors one month to submit detailed plans for regenerating and developing the plantation for full-fledged business, or the state House of Assembly will begin processes of revoking the license.
Leading other high-ranking state government officials, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Johnson Ebokpo, said the state has received mountains of petitions from the host communities against owners of the estate, all calling for new investors to take over.
Stakeholders, government officials, including the five communities which initially donated the land to the federal government as well as security agencies held a roundtable in Calabar to address the petitions before the management of the firm, warning them to live up to expectations.
Ebokpo said the state had to step in to resolve the issue between five communities, Iku, Abung, Akor, New Ndebiji, Okarara and the firm.
Some of the allegations by these communities against the firm are that the firm failed to implement terms of reference, including lack of corporate social responsibility and veering into illegal timber logging in the Cross River National Park.
According to Ebokpo, his office consulted the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, which confirmed that Wingsong M-House was the majority shareholder and had the right to the title of the estate.
He called on the firm to act responsibly and to re-establish a new line of informal engagement with the communities to douse tension while the development plan was awaited, warning that they risk ownership of the estate if they failed.
He cautioned the five communities involved to show restraint even in the face of the misunderstanding over the years.
The commissioner stressed that they want responsible private sector participation in its business environment.
State security adviser, Major General Obono Ubi cautioned the firm not to allow the estate become a den for criminals so that the Ambazonian fighters in southwest Cameroon will not use it as their fortress against the Cameroonian government.
A lawmaker in the State House of Assembly, Phillips Bette, representing the Boki 1 constituency spoke about negligence, insecurity and the possibility of revoking their title.
Managing Director of the firm, Mr Moyi Ladoja denied veering into lumbering, disclosing that they recently resumed actions in the estate.
He appealed for two months to enable them properly detail their development plans.
He disclosed that misunderstandings between the host communities and themselves have barred them from full operations.
