C’river community accuses govt agencies of neglect, land grab, threatens action

THE Ikot Effanga Mkpa Community in Calabar Municipality Council of Cross River State has accused the federal and state government agencies of neglect and land grabbing.

Speaking under the aegis of Ikot Effanga Mkpa Town Council, the host community to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Niger Delta Development Commission ( NDDC), its members expressed displeasure over the way the community had been treated and threatened to take necessary action to correct the anomaly. Leader of the town council, Effanga Ineng Effanga, who led a five member team, yesterday, alleged that the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and NDDC marginalised the community in the just- concluded employment, even when they were promised 10 slots, adding that not even one slot was allotted to the host community.

They also lamented that the Cross River Basin Development Authority, Federal Character Commission ( FCC), National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons ( NAPTIP), Cross River State Dump Site, were all located in their domain, but were not benefitting anything from these agencies.

They threatened to stop the commissioning of the ministry’s secretariat, adding that it was not observing the local content principle in terms of employment, non- implementation of pledges made in spite of the fact that its secretariat was in Ikot Effanga Mkpa town council.

They also accused the Basin Development Authority of failing to employ anybody from the community, even when the Town Council approached the agency.