The Abakaliki Capital Territory Development Board (ACTDB) said it would correct the irregular numbering of houses in the city.
The Board’s acting General Manager, Mr John Onah, said this on Sunday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abakaliki.
Onah said irregular numbering of houses was an embarrassment, especially when visitors came to the state, adding that correct numbering of houses was essential for easy identification and for standardisation.
He explained that before the board was created in 2007, Abakaliki Local Government Area was in charge of house numbering but could not stop the act “and this allowed house owners to give numbers to their houses as they wish.
“And such acts caused duplication of numbers on houses that were even on the same street.
“We therefore decided to correct these anomalies to ensure uniformity and orderliness in house numbering in the city.
“We have engaged relevant stakeholders, especially house developers, to evolve ways of numbering houses in the city and we will commence work immediately the modalities are presented to us.’’
The general manager said that the Board was aware of the complexities associated with house numbering and documentation.
He added that most of the affected houses had documents such as Certificates of Occupancy (C of O), power of attorney, registered with the houses and streets’ names.
“When a house that has no correct numbering is corrected for instance, the landlord finds it difficult to change to the new number and this affects the tenants,” he said.
He, however, explained that citizens would soon adhere to the new numbering system because this was the reason the state awarded the city’s master plan contract to a reputable firm.
According to him, there will be a new city called ‘centenary’ in the master plan which will serve as a model for the state’s desired capital city.
He then urged Abakaliki residents to always obtain approval from the Board before embarking on housing projects to ensure adherence to standards. (NAN)
