Delta to sanction officials for illegal approvals

Delta State Government has declared that all illegal structures on waterways, should be pulled down, promising to come hard on any official that flouts the directive.

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa warned officials of the Ministry of Lands and Surveys to ensure that they visit sites before approving buildings, and avoid issuing building approval certificates to property developers without visiting such sites to know whether they are on roads or waterways.

According to the governor, “an official of the Ministry who engages in such activities will face sanctions as this administration has set out to demolish structures on the waterways, especially in Warri, Uvwie and environs”

He spoke in Asaba when he received the Final Preliminary Report Of The Committee To Study And Advise Government On Measures Required To Tackle And Control Flooding Of Effurun/Warri And Its Environs In Delta State.

“Henceforth for any building plan for approval, those who are in charge of the approvals must go to site; people must be alive to their duties and not just sit in their offices and approve building plans because, for our people who are building on natural waterways, the structures will be pulled down.

The Governor further said, “If there is any marked building, the people must stop the construction and it must be enforced; It is our desire to reduce the level of flooding in Warri, Effurun and its environs.”

Earlier, John Onwualu, an engineer, had in his presentation, observed that “a large part of the flooding in Warri, Uvwie and environs is caused by blocked drainages, overgrown weeds on water channels, and developers building on the waterways, otherwise, there are natural waterways in the area.”