Governor Bassey Otu
By Anietie Akpan
Çross River state government has ordered the immediate disbandment of the suspended Cocoa Allocation Taskforce and Surveillance Team in the state.
This order by the State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu as contained in a statement dated June 10 by his Chief Press Secretary, Nsa Gill, affects the four government-owned Cocoa Estates in Etung LGA set up by the Cocoa Allocation Committee, including any other group operating under any guise.
The governor also ordered the “immediate lifting of suspension on payments of government lease fees to designated banks for one month, effective from the date of this press release”.
In addition, “all beneficiaries must confirm their names on the Cocoa Allocation master list with the designated desk officer, Ministry of Agriculture Ikom, before making payments, as the government will not be held responsible for any erroneous payments.
“The counting of lines per hectare remains the same as the Cocoa Allocation Committee agreed, that is. 14,12,10, 14 8 lines per hectare, respectively”.
The statement further stated that the Governor is committed to seeing an end to unnecessary squabbles and infractions in the management of state owned Cocoa estates, therefore, “any person or group of persons who stand as a cog in the wheel of progress will be made to face the law”.