Lawmaker accuses minister of land grab over methanol plant
The lawmaker representing Nkanu East constituency in the Enugu State House of Assembly, Okechukwu Mbah, has revealed why the state government halted the construction of the Biomass-Based Methanol Plant by the Energy Commission of Nigeria.
According to Mbah, the Minister of Innovation Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji tried to use the siting of the project as a camouflage for a land grab, which the Amanguze community in the Nkanu East Local Government Area resisted.
Mbah alleged that Nnaji initially bought a nearby parcel of land for personal business before proposing the federal government project to take over the disputed land between the Amagunze community in Nkanu East LGA and the Akpugo community in Nkanu West LGA.
The Energy Commission of Nigeria had on Sunday expressed outrage over the arrest of its workers by police at the construction site of the multi-billion-naira Renewed Hope Bio-Methanol Pilot Plant in Nkanu West Local Government Area, Enugu State.
The commission, an agency under the Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology, alleged that the arrests, which occurred penultimate Friday, were orchestrated by the Enugu State Government.
According to the commission, the detained workers have not yet been released, and construction activities at the site have been halted.
An official of the commission, Mr. E. Okeke, had told journalists in Enugu that seven construction workers were arrested during the operation.
But addressing a press conference on Friday, the lawmaker representing Nkanu East at the State Assembly criticised Mr Uchenna Nnaji, the minister, for not announcing the project to the Enugu State government or the council governments of Nkanu East or Nkanu West.
He also blamed Nnaji for being aware of the land dispute and failing to consult with the relevant parties before siting the project on Amagunze land, which he claimed belongs to the Akpugo community.
This move allegedly infuriated the Amanguze community, prompting them to report to the Enugu State government, which subsequently ordered the halt of the plant’s construction.
Mbah appealed to President Bola Tinubu to investigate the matter and call Nnaji to order, questioning why the project was attributed to Nkanu West LGA instead of Nkanu East, where the project is actually located.
He said, “There was no due diligence on the part of the minister. We are not against the federal government project coming into our community; in fact, we have more vast land for any project, but due process should be followed.
“Again, for such a gigantic project that will have waste products, there was no Environmental Impact Assessment made before siting the project. These are the reasons why we sealed the project at the moment.
“We’re also asking the Enugu State Boundary Committee to step in to address the demarcation between the two communities in two different local government councils to save conflict in the area.” (The PUNCH)
