The Ekiti State government has called on the Iye and Ikun communities to settle their differences over land and boundary disputes or risk forfeiting the disputed land to the state government.
The government advised the traditional rulers, chiefs and elders of the two communities to call their subjects to order, saying the state
government would not tolerate any form of unrest in the state.
The Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, on Friday called on communities to cooperate with the state government to attract investments that would boost economic activities and create more jobs for the people.
Egbeyemi warned individuals and communities against fanning the embers of discord that could lead to bloodbath over land and boundary disputes.
The deputy governor made the remarks while hosting traditional rulers and community leaders from Iye Ekiti and Ikun Ekiti to a peace meeting over a land dispute between the two towns.
Otunba Egbeyemi said the meeting was consequent upon a petition from Iye Ekiti, which alleged encroachment of its land by the people of Ikun Ekiti.
The Oniye of Iye Ekiti, Oba Jonathan Adeleye-Oni, led the delegation from his town, while the Onikun, Oba Olusola Olatunde, led the delegation from his community to the Government House.
Egbeyemi stressed that the Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi, was passionate about attracting investment to the state and would not want communities to be involved in violent clashes, anarchy and bloodbath over land.
According to him, clashes and killings over land could discourage investment and scuttle the governor’s efforts towards boosting economic profile of the state.
Egbeyemi described the two neighbouring communities as brothers, urging them to continue living together peacefully as the process to resolve the boundary issue continues.
He directed officials of the state Boundary Commission and those of the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development to visit the disputed areas to identify the said pillars that show demarcation or other means of identifying the boundaries.
The team is expected to carry out a physical inspection of the disputed boundaries on March 3, 2020 and report back to the government for further action.
Oba Olatunde said the crisis was between two families of the two communities, while the Oniye sought a harmonious relationship between the people.
