Obaseki Laments Degeneration Of Edo To Shut Churches, Mosques

The Edo State Government led by Governor Godwin Obaseki, has vowed that with effect from March 31, 2023, mosques, churches, event centres, clubs, lounges and other public spaces that fail to meet the state’s guidelines on noise pollution will be sealed.
The governor said such centres must instal sound-proof facilities.
This followed a joint task force comprising officials of Edo State Ministry of Physical Planning, Housing, Urban and Regional Development (MPPHURD) and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainability serving notices to the facilities, intimating them that a 90-day grace period has been granted for those affected to install soundproof materials in their facilities.
The move is related to a stakeholders’ meeting held previously between the Edo state government officials and owners of establishments requiring noise control, held on October 31, 2022.
The notice entitled, “Soundproofing Requirement for Your Property” has been served to stakeholders especially owners of hotels, lounges, clubs, bars, churches, mosques, and event centres, among others across Benin City.
Also, a statement issued and signed by the commissioner for Physical Planning, Housing, Urban and Regional Development, Isoken Omo, said the notices convey the agreement reached by the stakeholders with a March 31, 2023 deadline for compliance.
Omo stated, “The facility owners have a 90-day grace period. The notices are also accompanied by a leaflet to guide on soundproofing specifications and materials, as well as the role of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainability in providing further guidance on soundproofing requirements.
“The move to bring such facilities within acceptable noise level is encoded in the National Environmental (Noise Standard and Control) Regulation Law F.R.N Part V General 13-1308 17 – (2) and the extant Town Planning Laws. It also became necessary after MPPHURD started receiving incessant complaints and petitions from the general public.”
At the meeting the stakeholders disagreed and told the commissioner to give them more time, arguing that the time frame fixed by the commissioner was not enough for them to prepare, strategize, plan and meet the deadline given to them.
Following the warning given by the Edo State government, the governor, Godwin Obaseki, has given a six-month ultimatum to the commissioner and officials of the Edo State Ministry of Physical Planning, Housing, Urban, and Regional Development, led by Isoken Omo to correct the problem in the built environment sector and bring solution into the ministry and system .
Godwin Obaseki issued the threat while speaking to officials of the ministry who were on an annual retreat at the Edo State College of Education, Abudu Campus in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State, with the theme, “Building Synergies through Effective Collaboration.”
The governor lamented that major cities in the state were fast turning into slums,as a result of the indiscriminate erection of structures and other ills in the built environment sector, thereby threatening the government’s developmental efforts.
“I am giving you advance notice now. I am giving you six months as we are going to hire more staff to bring order to our cities. We have to create clean and functional cities. We will not accept the situation the way it is today. We need to improve the system.”
Obaseki said he is out to get things right.
“I am not seeking another election, nor am I seeking to be popular. I am seeking to do the right thing and to leave a legacy behind. I am not threatening anybody but if you don’t do what you ought to do, you will go while I bring in fresh people to make the system work.
“We would have departments, zone our cities and fly over it and account for every housing unit with documents which will be with you. This is a lawful state where you should make the government know about your house or properties.”
“People invade our roads, trade on it, and extend their homes to the road. There is a crisis in the building space. Don’t we have people again in the state who are supposed to regulate the built environment? Have they given up? Should we admit that the system has collapsed and just behave the way we like? We have an unregulated market; there are fuel stations everywhere and it strikes me.