By Sylvester Egede
The State House of Assembly has passed into law a bill for the establishment of the State Street naming and Property Addressing System after extensive deliberations.
The law shall be cited as Ebonyi State Street Naming and Property Addressing System Law 2025 and other matters connected thereto.
By this law, a comprehensive legal and institutional framework was provided for Property Addressing and Street Naming in Abakaliki Capital City.
This law also provided for better planning of essential services and provision of public services which will assist individuals in securing a legal identity through property addressing.
According to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Chief Moses Odunwa, the aim of the bill was to create a database for the State in connection with Capital City property development, proper planning and revenue generation for the State.
In his submission, the leader of the House and member representing Afikpo North State Constituency, Hon Kingsley Ikoro who urged his colleagues to support the express passage of the bill said that the bill when passed into law would among other things assist in maintaining a comprehensive and reliable street naming and property addressing framework in the Capital City of the State.
During the plenary, the House equally adopted a committee report on the oversight visit to the sixty four (64) Development Centres in the State earlier presented by the House Committee Chairman on Local Government, Chieftaincy matters and Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission (EBSIEC), Hon Goodluck. Obinna Mbam.
Part of the recommendations of the DC report includes; DC Co-ordinators should be compelled to reside within their Development Centers in accordance with law 004 of 2008, the Co-ordinators should carry out Capital Projects in their DCs to justify their ten million Naira monthly projects
target .DC Co-ordinators who failed to provide clear accounts of their monthly allocations should do so or made to face the full weight of the law.
Others include, Co-ordinators to build and foster harmonious relationships with their Management Committee members, stakeholders, and staff for functional Development Centers, that the Co-ordinators of Igbeagu, Ekumenyi, Effium, Effium South, Oshiri, Ohaozara East Ohaozara West, Ikwo South, Ezzama, Ezza East, Ishielu and Inyaba who are owing their Management Committee members imprest, F and G, and Christmas allowances should as matter of urgency pay them without delay.
The report also commended Co-ordinators who performed exceptionally while those below average were reprimanded and strongly counselled to sit up and step down Governor Nwifuru’s Charter of Needs Policy to the grassroot or face immediate suspension while periodic training and seminars were also recommended for staff of Development Centers for efficiency in service delivery.
In his concluding speech, the Speaker,Rt Hon Chief Odunwa said the essence of DC creation was to bring dividends of democracy closer to the people at the grassroot and must be maintained and commend the Chairman of Committee Mr. Obinna Mbam and his members for a job well done.
The motion for adoption of the report was moved by the leader of the House, Chief Kingsley Ikoro and seconded by the member representing Ezza-South State constituency, Hon Friday Ogbuewu while the Clerk of the House Mrs. Blessing Edene was directed to make a memo to the State Governor informing him of the resolutions of the plenary.
The House also gave nod to the Governor’s request for approval of Consultancy Services to facilitate recovery of outstanding Federal Tertiary Institutions PAYE for Ebonyi State.
Equally, the bill for a law to establish Ebonyi State Sports Festival Committee and other related matters passed first reading.
