By Izunna Okafor, Awka
The Anambra State Government has directed residents and property owners in key public view areas of the state to repaint and rehabilitate all dilapidated and worn-out buildings, as part of the Governor Chukwuma Soludo-led administration’s move to enhance the aesthetic appeal and environmental sanity of the state.
The directive, which was announced on Wednesday by the State Ministry of Environment through a statement signed by the Commissioner, Engr. Dr. Felix Odimegwu, is said to be part of a new statewide initiative tagged “Operation Repaint Your Buildings (Ka Anambra Chakee).”
The directive is also believed to apply specifically to buildings with worn-out paintwork, cracked walls, visible decay, or any form of environmental blight that undermines the visual harmony of the streetscape.
According to the Commissioner, the environmental enforcement exercise is backed by the Anambra State Environmental Management, Protection and Administration Law 2024 (Part 4, Section 79, subsections 1–7).
As stated in the notice, the exercise targets all residential and commercial premises situated in public view (Anyaọra) areas in different parts of the state, including but not limited to Onitsha, Awka, Aguata, Nkpor, Nnewi, and Ekwulobia, where buildings located in public-view zones are now expected to meet standard visual appeal or face regulatory sanctions.
In Awka South, the affected areas include Oby Okoli Avenue, Esther Obiakor Road, Arthur Eze Avenue, Zik Avenue, Club Road (Abakiliki Street), Ifite Road, Unizik Junction to Y-Junction, Aroma Junction to Secretariat Complex, Works Road, High Court Road, Meloch Avenue, Festus Avenue, Aquinas Road, Commissioners Quarters Road, and Ekwulobia Street.
In Nnewi North, the exercise covers Owerri Road, Bank Road, Nnobi Road, St. Mary to Traffic Light Junction, Igwe Orizu Road, Amuko Junction to Ibeto Junction, and the axis leading to Nnewi North Local Government Headquarters.
In Onitsha North, public-view areas earmarked include Awka Road, Enugu Road, Court Road, Park Road, Oguta Road, Old and New Cemetery Roads, Ugwunabankpa Road, Inland Town, New and Old Market Roads, Okwei Street, Bright Street, GRA, Omagba Layout Phases I and II, and the Federal Housing Estate, Trans Nkisi GRA.
For Onitsha South, the list comprises Iweka Road, Modebe Road, Silas Works Road, Venn Road, Creek Road, Bida Road, Zik Avenue, Moore Street, Niger Bridge Head Road, Upper Iweka, Odoakpu, and Port-Harcourt Road.
Other public-view areas listed in Idemili North include Limca Road, Ezeiweka Road, Nkpor–Ogidi Road, and the Nkpor Spare Parts Road.
In Aguata, the affected routes include Ekwulobia–Nanka Road, Ekwulobia–Oko Road, Ekwulobia–Igboukwu Road, and Ekwulobia–Uga Road; while Okpoko and all major roads in Ogbaru LGA are also captured under the directive.
While emphasizing that any structure within these prominent public-view zones must be maintained (and repainted if necessary) to prevent environmental decay and preserve the state’s aesthetic identity; the Commissioner said beginning from July 1, 2025, regulatory field officers from the Ministry will commence an inspection tour across designated locations to identify buildings whose current state either defaces the environment or has remained unrepainted for the past ten years.
According to him, the operation aims to strengthen public buildings, improve green spaces, and revive the aesthetic ambience of the state, reinforcing Soludo’s broader commitment to a clean, liveable, and eco-friendly environment.
“A clean, beautiful and eco-friendly Anambra is possible if we join hands together to improve her aesthetic ambience,” he concluded.
This reporter, Izunna Okafor, gathered that the Anambra State Environmental Management, Protection and Administration Law 2024, Part 4, Section 79, specifically provides the legal foundation for this directive, mandating that all tenement owners and occupiers must landscape and beautify the perimeter areas of their properties. It further empowers the regulatory agency to issue Aesthetics Mandate Notices for repainting, grassing, cladding, or general improvements, with a compliance window.
The law stipulates that after the expiration of the notice period, the Agency reserves the right to issue a Cost Notice outlining expenses incurred or to be incurred in repainting or beautifying the property, and subsequently carry out the action at the owner’s expense if not addressed within an additional grace period.
It further authorizes the government to seal any non-compliant property until full compliance is achieved, and imposes penalties including fines of up to ₦200,000 or imprisonment of up to three months for failure to comply, or both. Other parts of the law also mandate a minimum three-meter setback for buildings, to be either greened or paved, and penalize violators with fines of up to ₦500,000 in addition to the cost of government-executed corrections.
By implication, any building owner or corporate entity within the listed public-view areas who fails to comply with the directive within the stipulated timeframe risks regulatory action, which include fines, imprisonment, repainting by the government at a refundable cost, and eventual sealing of the property.
The Soludo Administration further re-emphasized that the move is aimed towards redefining urban management, environmental discipline, and modernized aesthetics, in line with his administration’s broader urban renewal drive.
