Residents of Port Harcourt City, the Rivers State capital, have been charged to obtain building permits before putting up buildings if the city must regain its gardens City status.
A retired director in the state Ministry of Urban Development and Physical Planning, Ase Gilbert gave the charge in a chat with The Tide in Port Harcourt, Monday.
Gilbert stated that obtaining building permits and adhering to the building guidelines would ensure safe properties, adding that it is also essential in developing smart cities such as is being proposed at the Greater Port Harcourt city.
He noted that building permits give the property authenticity and can be used as collateral to obtain loans and other financial aids and boost the revenue base of the state.
According to him, “building with permits would ensure a well-planned city, where basic infrastructure is provided and make it attractive to especially in the tourism and hospitality industry.
A well planned city is also devoid of incessant building collapse, “I would therefore advise that all buildings must have permits.”
Gilbert also charged residents on the illegal conversion of buildings to other uses they were not originally meant for and illegal developments and attachments to existing structures, saying “these alterations deface the skyline of the city and must be checked.”
He noted, however, regretted difficulty involved in obtaining approvals for building permits for developers and landowners and appealed to the government to address the matter for the case of doing business in Nigeria.
While encouraging developers and property owners on strict compliance with building plan laws, he charged the relevant authorities to make the process easy.

Tonye Nria-Dappa