Government will come down hard on its officials who facilitate fake land and building approvals. This has become necessary in view of illegal encroachments on lands including government-owned ones and other land transactions that have been facilitated with papers cooked by government officials.
To demonstrate its determination to sanitize the system, government is ready to bring to book retired civil servants and political appointees implicated in some of these unwholesome transactions.
It has been discovered that most of these cash-and-carry approvals given by unscrupulous officials in the past are responsible for the proliferation of the illegal structures we have everywhere, including areas that originally had master-plans.
These illegal structures deface the landscapes which were originally designed to be serene, green and livable.
Secondly, they block drainage channels and precipitate unforeseen waste management crises that pose danger to our people.
Government has therefore directed the Anambra State Physical Planning Board to begin to identify illegal buildings and structures without the requisite approvals for immediate removal.
Every human life is precious to this government and it cannot afford the tragedy of building collapse or people drowning in flood because of the greed of some serving and past officials.
We are the light of the nation.
*SIR PAUL NWOSU*
Commissioner for Information