- Action not political – Town Planning Board
The Kogi State Government has insisted on the demolition of the constituency office of the embattled Senator Dino Melaye.
The government said that Melaye’s constituency office located in Kabba, Kogi West Senatorial District, contravened the state’s town planning laws.
Melaye and the state governor, Bello, have been at loggerheads over some political issues, resulting in the recent plan by some of the senator’s constituents to demand his recall from the National Assembly.
But the Kogi State Town Planning and Development Board, which recently marked the building for demolition, added that it did not take the action for political reasons as being speculated in some quarters in the state.
Building has no statutory Right of Occupancy
KSTPDB described itself as a government agency that would not dabble in politics or allow itself to be used to fuel political feud by anyone.
The town planning board’s General Manager, Yisau Aliu, said this while giving reasons behind the marking of Melaye’s constituency office for an enforcement action in an exclusive chat with our correspondent in Lokoja, the state capital.
According to Aliu, “The building plan was submitted by the agent of the developer but fell short of necessary requirements for approval as it has no statutory Right of Occupancy, while the building space is above the required space standard.
“The agent was advised to seek alternative site or possibly acquire more space to meet up with the required ratio and process relevant title documents, but he failed to adhere to the directives and went ahead to develop the said site.
“Several ‘stop work’ notices were served without response from the developer or his agent. The State Town Planning and Development Board has no option than to enforce relevant laws, hence, the marking of the structure.”
The town planning boss, therefore, called on the public to desist from spreading false and defamatory information against constituted authorities as this would not be in the best interest of the state.
He said, “Those who are responsible for the erroneous allegation have done disservice to the public by attributing the marking of the building to politics, when all available facts point to gross violation of Town Planning Laws by the developer. If the building is allowed, it will constitute great danger to its inhabitants and immediate environment.
“As a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and an anti-corruption crusader, it is expected that he would fight against any act of law infringement. We expect the Senator to lead the fight against lawlessness and recklessness on the part of people in high places. No amount of blackmail can force us to succumb to the blatant irregularities which characterized the development of the said Constituency Office of Senator Dino Melaye.
“The law is a no respecter of anybody. Anybody who runs foul of the Town Planning laws, no matter how highly placed, will be made to account for his or her demeanour. As the Senate Committee Chairman of the FCT, Sen. Dino Melaye is expected to have a fair knowledge of town planning regulations.”
Aliu further said, “We urge the developers of all buildings recently marked, to stop further work on them as the Board will not hesitate to enforce its mandate.
“The Executive Governor of Kogi State, Alh. Yahaya Bello, has been accused of using the State Town Planning and Development Board to stop the development of Senator Dino Melaye’s Constituency Office; we want to state categorically that the State Town Planning and Development Board is not a political body but a government agency with clearly stated and defined mandate dating back to 1991 and does not work outside its mandate.”
While he explained that the Board was established to “promote and secure the physical development and environmental improvement of the entire state through orderly control of development and the use of land, to formulate, monitor, control and coordinate physical and regional activities,” he explained that in order to achieve the set goals, all parts of the state were, therefore, declared “Planning Areas.”
“By implication, the entire state is a planning area to ensure orderly development in every nook and cranny of the entire state,” he said.
The town planning board boss said in carrying out its mandate, the board ensured that “all buildings and any development are subjected to all necessary town planning approvals. This is the standard in all states of the Federation,” adding, “The board considers some factors before granting building approval among which are ownership title, purpose clause and building space ratio.”
Efforts to get Melaye’s reaction to the development proved abortive as he could not be reached on the phone. Also, he did not reply to an SMS text message sent to his phone.
