Observe Building Laws, LG Boss Charges Town Planners

The Chairman of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Council of Rivers State, Dr. Enyiada Cookey-Gam, has charged residents in the area to be vigilant, conscious of their immediate environment, and observe all building laws in the state.
Cookey-Gam, who spoke at a stakeholders’ interactive meeting with Opobo Physical Planning Forum in the Diaspora, in Port Harcourt, enjoined residents to obtain building permits in order to have safe and secured property.
He said this serves as collateral for obtaining financial or monetary support, adding that the administration in the area was aware that a functional community was a city that was organised, liveable, business and tourism-friendly.
He noted that the need to achieve this necessitated the quarterly stakeholders’ meeting to engender feedback between the government and the populace.
Cookey-Gam further reiterated that planning was essential in developing a smart city, admonishing residents to notify the state government of any violation and contradictions in their respective communities for speedy response to avert any major catastrophe.
Speaking in the same vein, President of the forum, Dr. Godfrey Pepple, used the opportunity to thank Opobo/Nkoro people for supporting the administration of Dr. Enyiada Cookey-Gam, and urged them to keep supporting the government in order to do more development projects.
Pepple, a seasoned town-planner based in the United Kingdom, explained that creating functional communities requires strict adherence to the provisions of the “Operative Development Plan’ for the area.
He disclosed that the subsisting development plan for Opobo/Nkoro was the forum’s master-plan for covering 2023 to 2033.
Pepple, however, said the government was aware of various issues militating against the application for the grant of planning permit by intending developers, such as land title on federal and state acquisitions, illegal conversion, illegal developments, that is construction prior to granting of planning permit in some communities.
He further disclosed that the forum has made provisions to encourage voluntary march via continuous public sensitisation.
Besides, he revealed that the entire process has been SIMplified and made easy for the public.
He said there was provision for the electronic submission of applications through the Ministry of Urban Development’s websites; electronic payment and validation of processing fees; email notifications; status and activity dashboards for electronic stage tracking of applications, and provisional planning permits.
The international town-planning expert explained that the state’s policy on regularisation of use for applicants who had illegally converted their building to other uses still subsists, adding that there was a moratorium of six months running between March and August, 2023, for developers and property owners who had either commenced construction work or built without obtaining the requisite planning permit.

By; Bethel Toby