Umuahia – The Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN), Abia State chapter, along with cocoa merchants and other stakeholders, have called for the immediate disbandment of the Abia State Cocoa Monitoring Team due to alleged extortion and other unethical practices.

They also demanded the establishment of a panel of inquiry to investigate the activities of the team, particularly the Secretary, Sarah Uzochukwu, and others who are accused of using the Deputy Governor’s name to exploit cocoa dealers in the state.

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Addressing a press conference in Umuahia, Abia State CAN Chairman, Johnson Uche, who also serves as the National Vice Chairman of the association, claimed that the monitoring team’s actions were driving cocoa dealers out of the state.

Flanked by other association members, Uche stated that the only cocoa exporter in the state had threatened to leave due to the hostile actions of the monitoring team.

“The extortion of N1000 per ton of cocoa by the monitoring team is unprecedented in the country,” lamented Mazi Uche.

He called on Governor Alex Otti to intervene swiftly and save cocoa dealers from the monitoring team’s exploitation, accusing them of usurping the State Produce Department’s authority for personal gain.

The CAN Chairman alleged that the monitoring team used private bank accounts to collect various sums from cocoa dealers and urged the Governor to investigate.

“We know that our Governor and his Deputy are clean and investor-friendly. These people are just using the Deputy Governor’s name falsely. That’s why we want to draw the Governor’s attention to this illegality,” he said.

Reading from a prepared text, he stated: “The cocoa monitoring team has no business going from one warehouse to another, extorting money from cocoa merchants.

“It is the constitutional duty of the state produce department to grade all cocoa, collect necessary fees, issue receipts, seal the cocoa bags, and issue evacuation check test certificates before the cocoa is lifted out of the state.

“The monitoring team, as currently constituted, should be disbanded for extortion and using the Deputy Governor’s name to collect illegal fees from cocoa merchants in the state.

“We demand that a panel of inquiry be set up to investigate the activities of Mrs. Sarah Uzochukwu, Secretary; Mr. Enoch Eke Kalu, Chairman; and Chibunna Osondu Nkwocha.

“The Abia State Government should compel these individuals to return over N1.8 million they illegally collected from our members.

“We demand that Mrs. Sarah Uzochukwu and Mr. Enoch Eke Kalu be banned from the monitoring team now and in the future for their activities. They should also be sanctioned according to Civil Service rules for using the Deputy Governor’s name to extort money from our members.

“The Abia State Government should ban the monitoring team from harassing and intimidating our members with security personnel from the Government House.”

Citing instances, he said: “On November 5, 2024, Mrs. Sarah Uzochukwu and Chibunna Osondu Nkwocha, accompanied by 8 military officers, 6 policemen, and a civil defense operative, went to the warehouse of OUTSPAN LTD, the only cocoa exporter in Abia State, and ordered the seizure of a trailer load of cocoa that had already been paid for, graded, sealed, and documented.

“When asked why, Mrs. Sarah Uzochukwu said that they did not obtain written approval from her as the Secretary of the monitoring team. They arrested the Director of Produce Abia State and the Manager of OUTSPAN LTD Umuahia. They were intimidated, humiliated, and taken to Central Police Station (CPS) Umuahia, where the truckload of cocoa was parked. They remained at the CPS from 3 pm to about 9:30 pm when the DPO inquired about the truck’s presence.

“Sarah asked the DPO to detain the Director of Produce and the OUTSPAN Manager, claiming it was the Deputy Governor’s instruction, but the DPO stated that it is the produce department’s duty to arrest and prosecute cocoa grading defaulters, not the monitoring team’s. He ordered the truck’s removal from CPS and refused to detain the manager and the director of produce.”

The cocoa dealers said their lawyer had been informed about the extortions and was preparing the necessary papers to recover the funds.

Mr. Gbenga Emmanuel, the Manager of one of the cocoa exporters in the state, recounted his ordeals with the monitoring team and sought the Governor’s intervention.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor has denied any involvement in the saga, stating he never authorized anyone to extort money from cocoa dealers.

The Deputy Governor, speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Chukwudi Eke Mba, said he had not received any complaints from the dealers but promised to investigate the allegations and bring both parties together to establish the truth.

When contacted, the Secretary, Mrs. Uzochukwu, said the allegations were false and fabricated to blackmail the team.

She stated that the team was only enforcing Government policies and cleaning up the sector, adding that some individuals who wanted to continue the old order were trying to frustrate the Government’s efforts.

Corroborating her position, another team member, Mr. Nkwocha, who was alleged to be collecting payments through his private account, denied any wrongdoing.

He explained that there was an interim arrangement approved by the team for the N1000 fee per ton of cocoa to be paid into his account since the team had not yet generated a code for payment into the Abia State Single Treasury Account (TSA).

He said that apart from the fee, no other money was paid into his account, adding that the monies were receipted and would be transferred into the TSA once the code was generated.

Mr. Nkwocha also accused CAN and cocoa merchants of shortchanging cocoa farmers in the state and evading taxes.

According to him, many of them operate without licenses and want to continue under the old Abia.

He said nobody would prevent the current administration from sanitizing the cocoa sector.

“They are lying. CAN has made themselves a farm gate, preventing the farmers from getting what rightfully belongs to them.

“We have met with the farmers, and they told us that when exporters provide incentives for them, CAN takes over the incentive and gives it to them as a loan. CAN stands between the farmers and the exporters to bid the price of cocoa at the farmers’ detriment.”