By Godspower Eguasa
The Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration has commended residents of the State for their cooperation towards the ongoing recertification exercise for house owners and developers in the State tagged Operation Show Your Building Plan.
The commendation was given by the Commissioner for Physical Planning, Urban and Regional Development, Isoken Omo, after the State Executive Council Meeting held on Thursday, May 5th, 2022, at the EXCO chamber of the Edo State Government House.
According to Omo, “after a careful review of the presentation made to the State Executive Council by the Ministry on the exercise, the Council directed for the program to henceforth be called Operation Plan Edo as against the initial name, adding that it is part of the Edo State Government’s commitment to provide services that are relevant to the people.”
She added: “We have been on Operation Show Your Building Plan, we’ve been to Amagba and we are currently at Ogheghe, but following the presentation and deliberation at EXCO, Council approved that it should now migrate to Operation Plan Edo and the reason is really simple; Government is interested in providing services that are relevant to the people and as we go around, we are able to get first-hand information on what services and infrastructure each community needs”.
Omo thanked Edo residents for their cooperation so far on the ongoing exercise, noting that over 400 approvals have been secured for those who have successfully provided their building plans and all the documents required for verification.
She said the exercise was paramount to the Edo State Government in actualizing the 30-year development plan, conceived to bring development and improved standards of living to residents.
“Going forward, we also want to thank those who have so far come to us with their building plans and all the documents required to get their approvals. We assure you that every application that has been done during this time has been fast-tracked and by the end of this week or early next week, we would be giving out over 400 approvals to those who have already gone through the process.
“So we actually thank Edo people for their cooperation and for the inroads achieved so far,” the commissioner said.
Furthermore, she warned residents not to take the law into their hands by attacking officials of the Edo State Enforcement Team under the Ministry who are involved in the field exercise.
According to her, some staff of the Ministry were attacked during the previous exercise and modalities have been put in place to ensure that those involved are brought to book.
She noted that officials of the Edo State Enforcement Team under the Ministry are currently going around for the verification exercise and are currently at Ogheghe Community along Sapele Road.
She added: “We would have hardware devices to get the data so that we can plan our city and our State in line with our 30-year master plan for Benin City and Edo as a region.
“We also want to register our displeasure with what happened last Friday in the Ogheghe area where some of our Staff were attacked by people in the community.
“Council took this very seriously and they have insisted that the people who did this, who perpetrated such an act will not go free, we would ensure that the full weight of the law is brought on them.
“People are supposed to do their work without fear, we are here to provide a service and the minimum that is allowed is for our Staff to do their work. So we condemn this in its entirety and please rest assured that the people who did this will be brought to book”.
