Emowhe family reacts, says we lost no case to Premium Steel

The Chairman of the Emowhe land committee in Ovwian, Udu Local Government Area of Delta State, Mr. Peter Akpokona, has reacted to newspaper report suggesting that the family lost a landownership case to Premium Steel and Mines Limited, operator of the defunct Delta Steel Company, Ovwian-Aladja, stressing that the company never won any case against the family neither was the company land extend into Emowhe family property in Utefe bush.

In a statement he personally signed, Mr. Akpokona, expressed dismay with the intention of the newspaper reports, which he said, were designed to mislead members of the public into believing that the Utefe bush in Emowhe actually belong to Premium Steel by virtue of a ’non-existing Court Judgment,’ warning Premium Steel to stay away from their family land and face the task of resuscitating the company.

‘’The attention of Emowhe family of Ovwian town has been drawn to a malicious, reckless, frivolous, wicked, scandalous and provocative publication laced with gross falsehood authored by Premium Steel and Mines Limited, which we would have loved to ignore, but for the powerful effect of the media and obviously the need to debunk the assertions of the company based on fraud related matters.

‘’Let me make it clear ab initio that the Bureau of Public Enterprises did not at anytime convey, assign, grants Emowhe family land known as Utefe bush measuring 102.6 hectares of land to the company. What was granted to the company were machinery and land measuring 10.091 hectares only. Newspaper publications by the Bureau of Public Enterprises of Monday, November 16, 2020 are clear on that.

‘’But the company in its bid to borrow money from various banks has been laying false claim to family lands in Ovwian town which resulted in litigation in the High Court of Justice at Otor-Udu and judgment was delivered against the company. By the judgment dated 19/2/2020 in suit no OUHC/73/2027 in the suit by Akpokona versus Premium Steel and Mines Limited, the court declared that Emowhe family are the owners of Utefe bush.

‘’Dissatisfied with the judgment, the company filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal Asaba, where we contended that the judgment of the High Court, Otor-Udu should stand and be adopted as final. Instead of prosecuting the Appeal, the company is busy laying false claim to Utefe bush in Ovwian town.

‘’For the records, the family is not a tenant of the company. The family did not enter into any tenancy agreement with the company. The family is not a party to the eviction order issued in 2016. The said eviction order is for the tenants of the company. Consequently, the eviction order is not binding on the family and its land known as Utefe bush. Worrisome is the fact that the company is alleging that it owns 102.6 hectares of land at Ovwian town. Amazingly, this assertion is violently in conflict with the publication issued by the Bureau of Public Enterprise’’, the statement added. 

Peter Akpokona, emphasized that the company was misleading the general public because it was scheming to forcibly acquire family lands at Ovwian Town.

‘’No court of competent jurisdiction in Nigeria has granted the company any land measuring 102.6 hectares. The Ministry of Lands, Survey and Urban Development, Asaba had earlier on by a letter dated 23/10/2013 confirmed that Emowhe family land is not part of the land acquired by the Federal Government for the purpose of establishing the defunct Delta Steel company, Aladja. The Chief Lands Officer, Ministry of lands and Survey had testified on oath that the land acquired by the federal government of Nigeria is not part of the family land. The Bureau of Public Enterprises and the Ministry of Lands, Survey and Urban development, Asaba have consistently declared that the company does not own the said land as alleged. The said publication is meant to deliberately misinform the general public’’, he declared, stressing that Emowhe family owns Utefe bush measuring 102.6 hectares, at Ovwian town and that the publication is unfounded, reckless, baseless and pregnant with falsehood.

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