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The Ebonyi State Government has demolished an ongoing building project in Azuebonyi Axis in Ebonyi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The building was meant to be a plaza.
The Ministry of Capital Territory which carried out the demolition also sealed a nightclub located in the city for alleged noise pollution.
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The Commissioner in charge of the ministry, Sunday Inyima, personally led the team to carry out the demolition on Monday.
Mr Inyima told reporters that the ministry had earlier ordered the owner of the building to remove it because the building was sited at the area earmarked for construction dual carriage road along the Sub Trans-Saharan Highway.
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“The building fell into the limit area of 45 to 50 meters from the middle of the road for the Super Highway,” he said.
The commissioner called on prospective developers to always get building approval from the ministry before the commencement of any building.
“There was no approved building plan by the ministry when the development was still at the foundation level.
“It has not even gotten to DPC (Damp Proof Course) and we told the site engineer to stop work, and of course, we issued them a stop work order,” he stated.
“We further issued them a revocation order and removal order for them to remove it from the foundation. We even confiscated some of their items.”
Mr Inyima recalled that the developers later came to the ministry’s office and pleaded that their seized items be released to them.
He said they also promised not to enter the land or continue with the development.
“This is a sub-Saharan highway, there is a limit you have to give from the middle of the road approximately 45 to 50 meters, and if you check 50 meters from the middle of this road, the whole of this building fell into it. Therefore, it was advisable for us to stop them, so we did,” Mr Inyima said.
The commissioner narrated that he was shocked last week during his unscheduled inspection of a building in an industrial estate when he observed that the developers had continued the project.
“I told my workers with the head of department, Town Planning to ask them to stop and remove from the extent they have gone.
“What we are trying to tell our people is that we are not in a Banana Republic. We live in a state where there is the rule of law at all levels.
“And this should serve as a deterrent to all other developers who may try to test the will of the government to take caution before they enter any form of development,” he said.
Mr Inyima stressed that the Ebonyi State Executive Council led by Governor Francis Nwifuru had in the last meeting ordered the ministry to commence the advertisement of the master plan.
“If the master plan is anything to go by, then people have to adhere to the rules and regulations,” he said.
Sealing of another facility
Mr Inyima said the ministry also sealed the Casablanca Lounge in the state capital over what it described as noise pollution emanating from the facility.
The commissioner said the management of the lounge was earlier warned to reduce the noise coming from the place especially at night.
He said the noise from the lounge was constituting nuisance to the area.
“They were invited twice to meet with the management of the ministry but all the efforts failed, so we had to seal the place today,” he said.
READ ALSO: Police arrest village head for shooting sister
Not the first time
This is not the first time the Ebonyi State Government would demolish building projects in Ebonyi State.
In February last year, the state government demolished “illegal” structures and slums in Abakaliki, the state capital.
Authorities had said the demolition was because the affected structures failed to comply with the laid-down physical planning standards in the state.
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