By Chukwuka Ugokwe
The Anambra State Government has moved against owners of unapproved buildings in Ebenebe and Amanuke communities in Awka North Local Government Area, serving demolition notices and marking several structures for removal.
The enforcement exercise, carried out on Thursday, September 17, was led by the Head of Development Control, Anambra State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mrs Ngozi Okwudili.
During the exercise, the ministry’s team identified and marked several structures described as illegal and liable to demolition.
Among the structures marked was a two-storey hospitality facility, Sophia Night Club, Ebenebe, which the ministry said was constructed without the required building permit.
Okwudili said the ministry had issued several Stop Work notices and markings on the building during construction, but the owner allegedly ignored the directives and continued with the development.
She said the facility was illegally constructed and would be demolished in accordance with the state’s physical planning laws.
According to her, the enforcement exercise across communities in Awka North was also aimed at enlightening residents and notifying developers of illegal structures about the government’s planned demolition exercise.
She lamented that some individuals continue to erect buildings, estates and layouts and develop lands across the area without obtaining the necessary approvals from the ministry.
Also speaking, the Ministry’s District Head in charge of Awka North Local Government Area, Tpl. Chinaza Anyaora, said no fewer than seven residential houses and other structures illegally built by developers at Avo Village, Amanuke, were marked during the exercise.
Anyaora warned developers against commencing construction without securing the required approvals from the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development.
She stressed that the government would no longer tolerate illegal development in the area, declaring that “it is no more business as usual.”
The latest enforcement underscores the Anambra Government’s renewed efforts to strengthen physical planning compliance and check the proliferation of unapproved structures across the state.
Tags: #Anambra #Ebenebe #Amanuke #AwkaNorth
