The Abia State chapter of the Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN) has called on Governor Alex Otti to disband the recently formed Cocoa Monitoring Team, accusing its members of extorting N1.5 million from cocoa merchants under the pretext of acting on behalf of Deputy Governor Ikechukwu Emetu.
In a statement signed by its chairman, Mr. Johnson Chidi-Uche, CAN urged the state government to establish a panel to investigate the activities of the team, including its Secretary, Mrs. Sarah Uzochukwu, Chairman, Mr. Enoch Eke Kalu, and member, Mr. Chibunna Osondu Nkwocha, whose bank account was allegedly used to receive illegal transfers.
The association also demanded that the funds, now reportedly totaling over N1.8 million, be refunded to its members.
According to CAN, the issue began when the monitoring team introduced new guidelines on October 30, mandating merchants to seek team approval before loading cocoa.
These guidelines, said to be spearheaded by Uzochukwu, were introduced during a meeting to which CAN and other key stakeholders were not invited.
Efforts to enforce these rules reportedly escalated into the use of security agencies to intimidate, extort, and embarrass cocoa merchants, even after the association called for a review.
CAN warned that failure to address the situation could force cocoa exporters to relocate to neighboring states, resulting in significant revenue losses for Abia.
However, a member of the monitoring team, Mr. Osondu, denied the allegations.
He clarified that the only funds collected were N1,000 per ton of cocoa, deposited into a team member’s account temporarily due to delays in generating a code for the state’s Treasury Single Account.
He assured that once the code is ready, all collected funds would be transferred accordingly.
CAN stressed the urgency of the matter, urging the state government to intervene and restore order in the cocoa industry.
