Traders under the aegis of the Nasarawa State chapter of Traders and Marketers Association have raised alarm over the illegal sale of government-owned land within Lafia, the state capital.
Ahj. Turaki Gamji, the State Chairman of the traders’ association, raised the alarm at a press conference on Monday in Lafia.
He explained that the land was where the traders built their stores before the government relocated the stores to Kwandere Road in Lafia.
He said that traders are law-abiding and had agreed to move because they were told that the government wanted to use the land for development that would benefit the entire people.
He noted that traders woke up recently and discovered that some persons were trying to develop the land on the claim that someone from Lafia had sold the place to them.
“Our members had willingly surrendered the place to the government for development that will benefit the public and we cannot allow individuals to illegally sell it for selfish reasons.
“When we inquired, we were told the land had been sold. By who? On whose authority? This is government land meant for the public,” he stressed.
The traders appealed to Gov. Abdullahi Sule through the Ministry of Lands to intervene to avoid breakdown of law and order in the state.
Reacting, Mr David Moyi, Commissioner for Lands and Urban Development who led other management staff of the ministry to the land, denied authorising any sale of the land or allocating it to any person or group of persons.
He added that the ministry would commence an investigation of the encroachment and promised to fish out the perpetrators of the act. (NAN).
