The Abia State House of Assembly has passed a resolution demanding the heads of service of its 17 Local Government Areas to clear grasses that have taken over their respective council headquarters within one week.
The resolution is a sequel to a matter of urgent public importance “on the need to prevent the looming danger within the various local governments and their surroundings”, brought before the House by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Okezie Augustine.
Presenting the matter, the Deputy Speaker lamented the untidy state of the environment in most council headquarters in Abia State, which, if not quickly addressed may lead to embarrassment to the state government.
He prayed the House to direct the heads of service of the Local Governments to clear the headquarters and, to henceforth, keep the councils clean, even as he suggested that the House Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs should embark on periodic supervision of the councils.
Ruling on the matter, which attracted the support of all the members who spoke, the Speaker, Emmanuel Emeruwa, described the situation as unacceptable to the lawmakers.
The Assembly also passed for a second reading, H.A.B 5: The Greater Aba Development Authority Law Bill, 2023 and committed same to its committee of the whole for further legislative action.
In his lead debate on the bill, the sponsor of the Bill, Mr. Uchenna Okoro, enumerated some of the bill’s benefits.
Okoro said if passed into law, it would lead to the carving of a new development area in the state, increasing its revenue base and helping to restore the original master plan of Aba.