By SAMSON NWAFOR, Abakaliki

Ebonyi State Government has given landlords whose buildings are situated within the major streets in Abakaliki to renovate their buildings within 14 days or face sanction.

The State Commissioner for Capital City Development, Barrister Onyekachi Nwebonyi who disclosed this while briefing Journalists in his office yesterday, expressed dismay that most landlords who had houses within the major streets of Abakaliki allowed their buildings especially the roofs to decay without making any plans to renovate them.

“If you look at the city, you can agree with me that in some major streets of the city, we can see decayed and ugly looking roofs; so we want landlords in this city especially in the major streets such as waterworks road, Gunning Road, Ogoja Road, Abakaliki/Ogoja expressway and other major streets in Abakaliki to renovate their buildings, because, as Africans, we don’t know maintenance culture, it’s inherent in us.

“If we want to have a beautiful city, we must have this maintenance culture. Some of these houses were built as far back as 1974, the roofs are outdated, everything is in rickety shape, we must renovate them to meet up with the present developmental status of the capital city.

“So, you don’t just allow your building to decay, because it is not leaking, no. So, I want to use this opportunity to call on the landlords in Abakaliki to renovate their buildings especially those within the aforementioned major streets of the capital city. That’s very important and we have given 14days notice to that effect. After 14 days, we start implementation,” Nwebonyi stated.

The Commissioner further disclosed the State government’s plan to add an additional lane to the already existing double lane, from Nkalagu junction to Onuebonyi junction, and appealed to developers along that axis to give 100ft space from the gutter to enable the government to construct the additional lane.

Nwebonyi said, “I want to use this opportunity to let the public know that from Nkalagu junction to Onuebonyi junction, the Governor has a good intent of expanding the road, which as a matter of fact will affect some developers along that axis. And as I speak, it becomes mandatory that there will be a kind of 100ft set back from the gutter on both sides of the road, because the Governor wants to add another lane to the existing double lane.

“We want to seize this opportunity to appeal to developers within that axis, from Nkalagu to Onuebonyi junction to observe the 100ft setback to enable the State government put another lane which is geared towards opening the city to international standard.”

Nwebonyi added that it had become compulsory for all landlords within the capital city to plant trees around their buildings or face sanctions, saying, the greener the environment, the healthier the people.

“The third aspect is tree planting, this is our supervisory role on the Ministry of Environment. For a very long time now, the ministry of environment has been asking people to plant trees, because the greener the environment, the healthier the people living in that environment.

“So, it is now a policy that landlords within the capital city must plant trees around their houses. It is now a policy and executive order signed by His Excellency, the Governor of the State. These policies of the Ministry of the capital city are to ensure total beautification and transformation of the capital city.”

Nwebonyi also announced that all motor parks in the capital city would be moved to the central park located opposite the international market on August 16, 2021, adding that only Ishieke park otherwise known as students’ park, would be exempted. (Daily Independent)

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