Posted by Chris Ugwu on
The Rivers State Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has given an ultimatum to all owners of marked illegal structures around the new fly-over near Air Force Base along Aba Road.....
The Rivers State Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has given an ultimatum to all owners of marked illegal structures around the new fly-over near Air Force Base along Aba Road and Okoronodo Street at D/Line behind NITEL in Port Harcourt to vacate the areas immediately or face the wrath of government.
Mr. Marshall Stanley-Uwom, commissioner for Housing in the state, condemned the indiscriminate erection of structures around the new fly-over and Okoronodo Street.
Condemning the illegal placement of bill-boards and posters that have eroded the beauty of the city scape, Stanley-Uwom declared that all marked illegal structures and illegal business premises around these two areas should be removed within the stipulated period or face inevitable demolition of the structures while the owners would be arrested.
He warned those moulding blocks, mechanics, and car dealers under and around the Air Force fly-over to vacate the vicinity in their own interest before the long arms of the law would reach them, adding that government would not tolerate such wanton defacement of the area.
"All those whose structures are on the street or too close to the road along Okoronodo Street, D/Line are to remove their illegal structures forthwith to avoid the wrath of government," he advised.
The commissioner has also issued a warning to all those who have started re-building on demolished areas such as Rainbow, Slaughter, Olu-Obasanjo Road, Aggrey Road, Rumuola and others to remove their illegal structures to avoid another demolition, adding that culprits would bear the cost of demolition and also face prosecution as stipulated in the Town and Country Planning Law.
He enjoined builders to desist from erecting illegal attachments to buildings, blocking access and drainages and illegal occupation of open spaces in Port Harcourt metropolis and its environs.
However, the Rivers State Government has described as unfounded rumours that the building housing the state Ministry of Justice has collapsed.
Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, attorney-general and Commissioner for Justice, said there was no iota of truth in the rumour, which is allegedly circulating in the state and some parts of the country.
Ajumogobia said the information came to him while in Lagos and rushed back to Port Harcourt to discover that the buildings in which some parts were undergoing construction was still standing as it is.
"The ministry decided to embark on the expansion of the building to provide space for the ministry's library. It was the wet concrete that was falling over the deck, a situation that was interpreted to mean that the entire building was collapsing. However, he described the situation as a minor one, which has been corrected," he explained.