The Benue State House of Assembly has amended the law establishing the Benue State Urban Development Board.
The amendment was done during the plenary on Thursday, September 17, 2020 after a clause by clause consideration of the principal law in the Committee of the whole.
Leading debate on the amendment, Chairman, House Committee on Housing and Urban Development, Mr Ogbu Otumala (Oju I/APC), said the law if amended would enable the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to take over the supervision of the board.
The board was hitherto under the supervision of the Ministry of Works and Transport.
Otumala said that only professionals, with at least 10 years’ experience, would be appointed General Manager of the board and shall serve a four-year single tenure if the law is amended.
He further explained that if the law is amended, “a mobile court will be designated by the state Chief Judge to try violators of the board’s notice’’.
According to him, the violation would attract a fine of N10,000 for individual as against the former N1,000 and while a fine, not exceeding N100,000, is fixed for erring corporate organisations.
The Committee Chairman urged his colleagues to support the amendment, saying that it would strengthen the operations of the Board.
After contributions from members in favour of the amendment, Speaker, Mr Titus Uba, invited the clerk, Mr Terese Agena, to read it for the third time.
By Onyeje Abutu-Joel
