Enugu State chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), has called on people of the state to ignore rumour that Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi donated hectares of land for the implementation of the RUGA settlement.

Rural Grassing Area (RUGA) was proposed by President Muhammadu Buhari as one of the measures to end the incessant clash between farmers and Fulani herdsmen.

Under the programme which was later suspended by the APC-led government, 36 state governments were to allocate hectares of land for the take-off of the programme. Critics of the programme described it as a way to freely seized ownership of land from their ancestral owners.

While some states kicked against it, some Northern state governors said they were ready to implement the programme.

There were claims that the Enugu governor was one of the governors from the South who had donated some hectares of land for the settlement project at some communities in his state.

The Secretary of CAN in the State, Dr Joseph Ajujungwa, who reacted said checks by the Christian body showed that no such thing happened.

Ajujungwa cautioned rumour mongers to stop heating up the polity.

“We have taken time to investigate some of the allegations against the governor on this Ruga, claiming that he has given land for the project.”

He assured residents of the state that “it is not true; we have investigated, we have done everything we are supposed to do and we found out that the allegation is false. The claim is from the pit of hell, it cannot be substantiated.”

He asked: “How many hectares of land do we have in Enugu that some can come out and say the Governor has given out 31 hectares?

He urged the people of the state to carry on their normal businesses and forget such propaganda.

Ajujungwa, who is also the National Chairman, Christian Enlightenment and Welfare Organization, CEWO, said “the most annoying part of it is that those circulating this fake news are not in this State; they stay in their comfort zone and create unnecessary tension here.

He claimed the propaganda was an attempt to cause a breach of peace, “to truncate the harmony we are enjoying in this State, just to seek political relevance.”

He affirmed that “We have interfaced with him and he told us bluntly that such a thing never happened,” Ajujungwa added.