The Akwa Ibom Government has warned land speculators in the state to beware of fraudsters by investigating the rightful owner from the relevant ministry before buying any parcel of land.
The Commissioner for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Ime Ekpo, gave the warning during a press conference in Uyo on Thursday.
Ekpo expressed displeasure over the swindling of some people in the state by fraudsters, due to inadequate information on the parcels of land they presumably bought.
Read also: Nasarawa mobile court convicts 42 sanitation offenders
“We manage lands effectively for the state government.
“We hold the registration of lands and there is no land in the state that is not registered; we issue Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) to the rightful land owners.
“I will encourage everyone to seek proper information from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources before purchasing any land,’’ Ekpo advised.
Ekpo said that the state government had not authorised the selling of any estate and those who were selling them had not received approval from government.
On the issue of raising unauthorised structures in some part of the state, he warned that the state government would not give any notice to owners of illegal properties before demolishing them.
The commissioner warned the members of the public to desist from raising structures under high-tension cables, stressing that such practice in any eventuality, could lead to disaster.
Ekpo debunked the allegation of property fraud in the ministry as speculated in the social media.
According to him, the report lacks merit and should be regarded as fake news because the information lacks facts and figures to be taken seriously.
