By Izunna Okafor, Awka
The Anambra state government has given the conditions that must be met before the recently sealed political parties’ offices in Awka, the state capital would be unsealed.
Recall that the office of the Edozie Njoku-led faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), that of the Labour Party (LP), and that of the Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, Senator Victor Umeh —all located inside the Udoka Housing Estate in Awka, were reportedly sealed on Tuesday.
The Managing Director of the Anambra State Housing Development Corporation, Hon. Chike Anyaonu, listed the condition in a text message to this reporter, Izunna Okafor on Wednesday.
The ASHDC MD had earlier confirmed that the Corporation had sealed off the property, as part of the agency’s enforcement against the misuse of government’s property by allottees.
According to him, the sealed property were being used for commercial purposes instead of residential for which they were meant.
He said that this continued, despite the attempts by the Corporation to make the people revert to the use of the property for residential purpose for which they were approved and alloted; hence, the agency’s move to seal them off.
However, Mr. Anyaonu, on Wednesday, said the sealed property would be unsealed only if the owners meet three conditions, which include: applying to the Corporation for a change of purpose for the buildings; paying the fees for the contravention of purpose for the building; and submitting the rental agreement with their tenants to the Corporation for vetting to ensure that covenant with any tenant include noise pollution-free engagement while using the property.
He further hinted that “Worthy of note is the fact that residents of the estates have for long been complaining about traffic and pollution in the estate resulting from multiple commercial activities in the estate that should be purely residential.”
Mr. Anyaonu further threatened that outright revocation of those allocations await the allottees that fail to comply with the conditions.