Abia issues Aba landlords 90 days to obtain approved certificates

Abia State Executive Council (SEC) at its weekly meeting, yesterday, issued an ultimatum to property owners in Aba, the state’s commercial hub, who are yet to obtain their Approved Plan Certificates for their buildings to do so within the next 90 days.

It was gathered that Governor Alex Otti also allowed them to pay the necessary statutory charges at the old rates and not the extant rates that are higher, to motivate them to comply with the state government’s directive.

The Guardian learnt that while there are between 70 and 90 thousand housing units in Aba, 40 to 50 per cent of them do not have their Approved Plan Certificates.

Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, who announced the SEC’s directive, yesterday, also said that under the state’s ‘Light-Up Abia’ initiative for illuminating the state for esthetics and security improvement, 4,345 solar lights have been installed in 86 locations at Umuahia, Aba and Ohafia, as the initiative is being expanded to over 700 cities and communities in the state.

The Commissioner added that the state was one of the six selected among the 36 states in the country to participate in an international medical symposium in Ghana.