Govt, Landlords Battle Over Building Completion Certificate

WORRIED by the distortion in approved buildings for the various layouts in Enugu State, the state government has commenced the enforcement of “Operation Show Your Building Completion Certificates”, across the state.

  The state Commissioner for Capital Territory Development Authority, Mr. Emmanuel Omeje, who announced this to newsmen, said government was not comfortable with the way and manner in which residents jettison approved building plans in the state.

  Omeje, who said government designed specific layouts and the nature of buildings that could be erected on them, either commercial or residential, disclosed that such rules were grossly violated daily by developers in the quest for money.

  “We will not continue to condone this. We will enforce the order on compulsory show of certificate for building completion so as to sanitise the state of the illegality that has gone over the years. We may be lenient on those buildings that had existed before this Ministry was created. But there is no building in the state that did not receive endorsement from the government before it was erected.

    “Anybody who has built outside the recommendation of this Ministry has ran foul of the law, we are going to apply the relevant laws to ensure that we do the right thing”, the commissioner warned.

  He lamented that refusal to abide by government approved building plans had endangered many lives in the past, citing the case at Coal Camp Quarters, where residents had consistently defiled government’s order not to built structures along the hills.

  “The hills caved in last year and many buildings were covered. We lost a pregnant woman and many household properties. That was the extent to what these illegalities can cause. When we say that a place should not be developed more than a storey building, there is a reason for it. It could be because of the soil texture among other things, but people will come here and get approval to build; they will in turn go and do whatever they want to. This must stop because of the health implications,” he said.

  Omeje who said demolition of illegal structures would continue in the state, warned those who return to the areas after demolition to desist, as government may start prosecuting them.