By Ita Williams, Calabar
Cross River state government has given Winsong M-House, a Nigerian oil palm firm, a one month matching order to implement the Share Sale and Purchase Agreement (SSPE) for Ayip Eku Oil Palm Estate.
Failure to do this may attract dire consequences as the state government and host communities were not pleased with the outcome of activities at the palm estate.
The Ayip Eku Oil Palm Estate was sold to Winsong M-House about 12 years ago but not much positive change could take place as the firm was embroiled in serious conflicts with different factions of the host communities that even claimed four lives.
However, in a dialogue meeting held on Tuesday at the Dale Hall of the Metropolitan Hotel in Calabar, Cross River State stakeholders reaffirmed Winsong M-House Company Limited as the rightful titleholder of the Ayip Eku Oil Palm Estate.
The meeting, presided over by the State’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Irrigation Development, Hon. Johnson Andiambey Ebokpo to address longstanding issues related to the estate, however raised concerns raised about the investor’s failure to fulfill its community social responsibility obligations under a specific clause in the Share Sale and Purchase Agreement (SSPE) involving the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Ayip Eku Oil Company, and Winsong M-House.
Given these lapses, Ebokpo announced that, “Winsong M-House has been given a one-month deadline to present a comprehensive action plan that aligns with the SSPE”.
Accordingly, the meeting which witnessed the unanimous adoption of resolutions by all stakeholders present, mandated Winsong M-House to submit a letter of commitment referencing the outcomes of the meeting to Cross River State Governor Sen. Bassey Edet Otu.
The Commissioner further stated that copies of this letter are to be shared with the Commissioner of Agriculture, the State House of Assembly, the State Security Adviser, and relevant security agencies, including the Nigeria Police and the Department of State Services.
The gathering brought together essential representatives from government agencies, host communities, and the private sector to deliberate on matters concerning the 12,000 hectares of land designated for oil palm cultivation across five host communities in the Akamkpa Local Government Area—specifically Okarara, New Ndebiji, Akor, Iku, and Abung.
