Cross River State Government has vowed to resist the construction of five-star hotel currently being undertaken by the Nigerian Navy in Calabar.
The government said the project, which is a few kilometres away from the Governor’s Office in Calabar, will pose grave security challenges for the state and is also in flagrant violation of the state’s town planning regulations.
The Navy and state government have been at daggers drawn over who owns a disputed land located opposite Tranccorp Hotels in the heart of Calabar metropolis.
While the Nigerian Navy is claiming it duly acquired the land decades ago, government said Navy is occupying the land illegally.
Clarifying issues surrounding the ongoing project, which has pitted the Navy authorities against the state government, Commissioner for Lands and Housing, John Inyang, said the project does not augur well for government.
He said: “It amounts to a breach of security to put up a commercial structure very close to the governor’s office, and a five-star hotel at that location will cause a lot of security concerns for the state.
“The government is asking the navy to make a formal request for allocation and do the needful by obeying the land use laws, building regulations which entail the application to the director of town planning before approval is given.
“This is part of land administration in all states in the country and the navy is ignoring these laws and has, with impunity, commenced the construction of a five-star hotel.
“I can say authoritatively that the navy authorities have no title to the said land and that the government is seeking legal redress to recover the land.”
According to him, state government remains open to continuous partnership with the navy and recently allotted 110 hectares of land at Idundu in Calabar for the establishment of the proposed Naval War College.
Reacting, the authorities of the Nigerian Navy insisted that it had no intention of joining issues with the state government over land issues.
Commander of the Nigerian Navy Ship Victory, Rear Admiral Vincent Okeke, said they have documents to the effect that the land in question belonged to the Nigerian Navy and the naval authorities since 1970.
He added that the directive to put up a befitting structure in Calabar is from the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ette Ibas, and the Navy is always open to working with the state government. Sun
