Edo govt issues contravention, demand notices to owners of illegally converted buildings

By Isaac Olamikan

Edo Government on Monday issued contravention and demand notices to owners of properties that have been illegally converted to commercial use in the Benin metropolis.

The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Isoken Omo, while addressing journalists in Benin City, urged the property owners to regularise their approvals immediately or risk their properties being sealed off.

She said the development is aimed at bringing sanity to the Benin metropolis in line with the 30-year development plan of the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration.

Omo said that the ministry served contravention and demand notices on property owners in the affected areas, decrying the spate of conversion of residential buildings to business facilities.

She disclosed that such acts have an impact on the planning, infrastructure, social life, and well-being of the affected areas.

According to her, the Benin Airport Road is one of the gateways to the Edo State capital and a fast-growing business district with a high level of transactions happening every day.

She said that the State government is worried about the disruption this brings to its development master plan especially with many of the properties illegally converted from residential buildings to commercial facilities.

The commissioner said that the conversion of use must comply with the law to minimise the impact on planning and infrastructure, noting that officials of the ministry have begun engagement with the property owners in pilot areas, including Airport, Boundary, and Ihama Roads to regularise their approval.