Delta state Government has warned individuals who engage in illegal levy collection at construction sites to desist from it, stressing that anyone found guilty will face a two-year jail term.
The government described the illegal levy collection at construction sites across different regions of the state, as unlawful and not a legal means of obtaining income.
This is coming from a statement signed by the Director General of Delta State Orientation and Communications Bureau, Dr. Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe, which was made available to newsmen in Warri on Saturday, September 7, 2024.
The Director General sternly warned community leaders in the state against “development fee’ collection at construction sites, either by members of community development committees (CDCs), associations, affiliations or community leaders.
The statement also made it clear that culprits will risk two years jail term on conviction.
In his words : "The existing law criminalizing it is still in force".
He further spoke on the need for community leaders and residents in Delta State to adhere to the subsisting law cited as the “Public and Private Properties Protection Law, 2018.”
According to the Director General, “the information has become necessary following series of complaints lodged at the Bureau, coupled with allegations of acute exploitations trending on social media platforms, which revealed that some members of Community Development Association or local Committees constituted by either community leaders or traditional institutions are going about terrorizing private property developers.”
“Some of the complaints, according to the Bureau’s Director General, include the use of brute force and coercive strategies to collect all kinds of levies and fees ranging from N200,000 to over N1,000,000, depending on the location and size of building structure indicated in the building plan or project design.”
He also mentioned that the Governor of Delta state, Sheriff Oborevwori, personally presided over the passage of the Bill as Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, during his tenure.
The bill was subsequently signed into Law in 2018 by the immediate past governor, Senator Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa.
According to the statement, those who wilfully, deliberately and unknowingly violate the law “shall be prosecuted, and such individual or group of persons risk two years or five years jail term upon conviction.”
He warned that illegal collections at construction sites in the state also known in the local parlance as "Deve fee” has been outlawed, and no resident, community leader or traditional institution is given the permit to collect levies from land owners/developers, either the public or private sector.
He also assured that Governor Oborevwori will continue to work acciduously to provide mega infrastructural development across the three senatorial districts and attract local and foreign investors.
Oghenesivbe appealed to community leaders and stakeholders not to discourage companies and land developers from bringing development to their communities, towns and villages because of involvement in illegal activities that the government frowns upon and are also prohibited by the law.
“The Public and Private property Protection Law 2018, and more particularly at Section 13(1) and (2) which unequivocally protects property developers from being exploited, and went on to prescribe two years imprisonment or one million Naira fine or both for violators and law breakers.
“Similarly, section 11(1)(a-c) and 2(a) and (b) equally prohibits anybody from selling landed property to more than one person, with or without legitimate title, and violators risk five years imprisonment upon conviction,” he said.
The statement also stated that “Collection of all forms of levies and fees at all construction sites in all 25 local government areas of the state which include communities, towns and villages, is prohibited by law, be it 10% from sale of land in form of development fee or levy.
“Forceful entry, assault on construction workers/land owner, or trespassing construction sites without lawful authorization by the site or building owner is illegal, against laws in force, and must be avoided.
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