BY MARIE-THERESE NANLONG

Jos — The Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang, has ordered the demolition of all buildings erected along water ways to avoid further floodings in the state.

The governor, who expressed displeasure over what he described as indiscriminate erection of structures in the state urged the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to demolish any building that hinders smooth flow of water in the state.

Speaking during his ongoing inspection of project sites yesterday, Jang frowned at the proliferation of illegal structures especially along waterways, thereby exposing the state to the risk of flood.
Among the project sites visited were the new Government House, Little Rayfield, flyover bridges at Utonkon Road and Secretariat Junction, all in Jos.

”One thing I have observed along the Utonkon road and here at the Secretariat Junction is that people build right on the water ways, and I have given directives to the commissioner of Housing and Urban Development to ensure that all these houses are demolished.

”They are illegal structures; their owners do not have any building plans and I wonder if the owners have Certificates of Occupancy, C of O. If the Ministry of Lands and Survey did their usual thing by giving them C of O in those areas, we will find out from the files who issued those certificates and they will be disciplined accordingly,’’ he said.

The governor insisted he would not pay compensation for the affected buildings before demolition as they were illegal structures which must give way for water to flow freely, especially now that the rains were increasing and water levels in the areas rising.

At the new Government House, Jang urged contractors to intensify efforts and complete the project because he was determined to occupy the complex before the end of his administration.

According to him, “We want the new administration to take over from that new Government House. Plateau is one of the first states that was created in this country and it will surprise people that this is the first time we are building a Government House; where the governor used to stay was built as Presidential Lodge.”

He then assured citizens of the state that efforts were in top gear to complete and commission all the ongoing projects in the state before 2015 as no uncompleted project will be left at the end of his tenure.