Delta State Government says a two-year jail term awaits anyone caught collecting development levies or any form of fees from public or private land developers in the state.
The Director-General of the State Orientation and Communications Bureau, Dr Fred Latimore, gave the warning in a statement made available to newsmen yesterday in Asaba.
He said the state law which criminalized the collection of any form of development levies or fees at construction sites, either by members of community development committee, association or community leaders remained in force.
Latimore said there was a need for community leaders and residents to obey the subsisting law cited as the “Public and Private Properties Protection Law, 2018.”
He said that several complaints of exploitations received by the Bureau were a pointer to the fact that some community leaders and their associations terrorize private property developers in the state.
The Orientation Bureau DG recalled that the State Governor, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, presided over the passage of the bill when he was speaker of the State House of Assembly.
According to Oghenesivbe, the communities use 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 the building structure.
He said those who violate the law would be prosecuted, adding that such individuals or groups of persons risk a two-year or five-year jail term upon conviction.
