Aba Master Plan: Landlords To Regularise Properties
Aba popularly known as “Enyimba City”, is a major business hub in the South Eastern Nigeria. But for ages has no profound master plan, hence need for a proper master plan for the city by the Abia State government led by Governor Alex Otti.
The Abia State Government, through the Greater Aba Development Authority (GADA), has launched a massive data collection exercise of all landed properties in the Aba metropolis. The exercise, which is part of the ongoing 25-year master plan for the city, aims to take stock of all buildings and properties in the area.
According to the Director General of GADA, Uche Ukeje,
“You all will recall that prior to now, there had never been a master plan for the city. And as part of the process of being a master plan, we need to take stock of what we have.”
This exercise is a crucial step towards achieving that goal.
Property owners have been given a 90-day moratorium to regularize their properties with the agency. This involves submitting proof of ownership and other relevant documents to the town planning authority offices in their respective local government areas. Ukeje emphasized the importance of adhering to this government directive, stating that it offers property owners the opportunity to verify the authenticity of their documents and regularize them.
“Ordinarily, when you build your building without approval, there are penalties, and there are things that come with that when you want to recover. But His Excellency, in his wisdom and magnanimity, has brought Christmas early to the city of Aba. So he has offered a 90-day moratorium for anyone that has a building, residential, commercial, any type of building in Aba that you have done without approval, to come in and get the building approved,” Ukeje explained.
- ALSO READ: History Why Aba Is Called Enyimba City
Native building owners are also required to provide a native land certificate from their traditional rulers to confirm their ownership of the properties. Ukeje emphasized that the exercise is not intended to generate revenue for the state, but rather to collect data that will aid in planning and development. “The basic idea here is the collection of data, not IGR. Let’s make it clear for the question. It’s not about making money for the state. In the modern world, it’s difficult to plan without data,” he said.
Ukeje further explained that without accurate data, it is difficult to plan effectively, citing the example of siting hospitals and schools. “If you want to cite hospitals, schools, any other facility, social, financial, the first thing they will ask you is that, what is your market? And as is today, we don’t have that data, because most of the things happen outside of the system. We can have information on how many houses we have here. We don’t have information on how many people we are serving. So if we want to cite a new hospital, we cannot say, for instance, that this part of Abba requires more than that part of Abba, because that information just doesn’t exist,” he said.
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Property owners who take advantage of the moratorium will enjoy a discount, and those who fail to comply may face penalties. The government is urging property owners to take advantage of this opportunity to regularize their properties and support the development of the city.
“So what we are doing, basically, is to be able to provide the government with the information we need to serve the people better. And what is happening now is that there’s a 90-day moratorium from His Excellency to the people of the city. Whether you live here or not, as long as you have an asset, come in here, walk into any of the five or six local time planning authorities, and get your documentations approved,” Ukeje said.
He added that once the documentation is approved, it serves several advantages, including providing property owners with legal documents from the state acknowledging the presence of their properties. “If tomorrow, as we are expanding roads and they are doing things, that building happened to be along the line, that it will be affected, you will be fully compensated, because the government is aware of the development. But on the other hand, if it is not documented in government paper, that place is a vacant property. So if such things happen, and you come to be compensated, we will let you know that there is no building existing there. So this is like Christmas,” Ukeje said.
Aba Master Plan: Landlords To Regularise Properties
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