Chime
The Enugu State Government has called on residents of the State to desist from erecting structures without obtaining due approval from necessary quarters.
This is even as the government said it takes more pleasure in having the residents do the right thing than punish them for going against the law.
The Commissioner for the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority, Emmanuel Omeje, who disclosed this while briefing newsmen on the activities of the ministry, also assured Enugu residents that the mega city project was not aimed at witch-hunting anybody but to secure the life of the people.
He expressed concern that some members of the public usually construed the positive efforts of the government.
He added that the government was more interested in having the residents abide by the relevant laws than engage in punitive actions.
“There have been vacuum in the past months of our operations, before we engage in the operations and after the operations. Whenever our men are on the field, the residents should understand that they are there to save lives.
“Whenever our traffic compliance officers are on the road, the people should understand that they are there for the good of all the people of the state. We are not interested in punitive measures; our priority is to ensure that there is safety on the roads, that there are no abandoned vehicles and to make sure that artisans do not convert our roads to kiosks”, he maintained.
Speaking on continuous demolition of illegal structures, he said it was unfortunate that several people had continued to erect structures without building plans, while others built in disregard to their approved building plans.
He said such people were not in possession of their Building Completion Certificates because they refused to invite officials of the ministry to confirm if they built in accordance with their approved building plan.
Omeje, however, stated that those who built their houses before the policy was enacted would be given palliatives, but that the ministry will not take it lightly with those that built their house in recent times.
He insisted that in urban renewal, it was not proper to allow illegalities to continue because they had exited for a long time, maintaining that there was need for the government to confirm that houses completed in Enugu State were built in accordance with the approved plans.
Omeje also disclosed that government would continue its efforts to clampdown on street traders, adding that uniformed men would be deployed to areas where street traders were chased away in-order to prevent them from going back again.
He averred that the state government through the ministry would continue to arrest street traders in different parts of the state, expressing dismay that many of the street traders had refused obey government directive on street trading.
Reacting to mixed reactions over the ongoing demolition of some illegal structures in the state, Omeje said the action was taken to avert major disaster in the areas, explaining that most of the houses built on top some hills could be destroyed by disaster in the future.
He said it was unfortunate that despite the demolition exercise, people were still building houses close to demolished structures.
Omeje, however, said the government would continue to sensitize the masses on the need to seek approvals before building structures.
Omeje advised people not to see officials of the ministry as enemies, insisting that they were only trying to avert deaths and disasters in the future.
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