The Government of Rivers State has threatened to seal off the secretariat of the Accord Party in Port Harcourt within seven days over an alleged change of the use of the property from residential to commercial.
Recall that the State government had enacted Executive Order 22 of 2022, prohibiting the use of the residential property as party secretariats.
The State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development in a notice addressed to the Accord Party chairman in Rivers, ordered the party to revert to the original use of the property or risk being sealed off.
In the notice signed by the State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Austin Ben-Chioma, the government noted that the alleged change of the use or purpose of the property located on No 5 Ndoni Street in the GRA axis of Port Harcourt without a permit from the ministry violates Article 43 of the Land Use Regulation 2010 of the Rivers State Official Gazette No. 1 Volume 48 of 25th January 2012 and the Executive Order 22 of 2022.
The government further noted that the “unilateral change of use of the building is constituting a nuisance to residents and order users in the area.”
The ministry, therefore, ordered the party to revert to the original use of the property or contact the ministry for a possible grant of the permit within seven days or risk being sealed off.
