The Ebonyi State Executive Council (EXCO) has approved the transmission of bills to the State House of Assembly aimed at regulating house rents, estate agents’ charges and the activities of scrap dealers across the state.
The development was announced on Tuesday by the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Chief Ikeuwah Omebeh, while briefing journalists after the EXCO meeting held at the Government House, Centenary City, Abakaliki.
According to Omebeh, the proposed landlord and tenant law is designed to protect residents from excessive charges by estate agents. He said the bill would prevent agents from collecting more than two per cent of the total rent paid by tenants.
He explained that the legislation would also ensure that only qualified and duly registered estate agents are allowed to operate within the state.
The commissioner said EXCO also approved a separate bill to regulate the sale, purchase, possession, transportation and disposal of metal and electrical scraps.
He noted that the proposed law is intended to tackle vandalism, improve public safety and promote environmental protection.
“EXCO approved the transmission of the bill to the Ebonyi State House of Assembly for proper legislation,” Omebeh stated.
Omebeh further disclosed that the council approved the establishment of state-owned herbal heritage gardens in the three senatorial districts of Ebonyi.
He said the initiative would be executed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in partnership with the Ministries of Health and Agriculture and Natural Resources to encourage research, preserve indigenous medicinal knowledge and promote the standardisation of traditional medicine.
According to him, the government will immediately begin stakeholder consultations, identify suitable locations for the gardens and develop the necessary regulatory framework in collaboration with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and relevant research institutions.
He added that within the next 90 days, a supplementary memorandum would be presented to address legislation on standardisation, intellectual property protection and the integration of herbal medicine into primary healthcare services.
The commissioner also announced that the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice had been directed to begin the legal process of terminating all abandoned 2-kilometre road contracts across the state.
He said the decision followed an assessment of the projects’ level of execution.
To ensure their completion before September 2026, special EXCO committees have been constituted for each local government area to supervise the projects.
Omebeh added that the Commissioner for Special Projects, Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Obichukwu, has been instructed to immediately prepare a comprehensive inventory of all uncompleted 2km road projects for further government action.
The commissioner also revealed that EXCO approved the proposed design, construction and operation of a 6,000-tonnes-per-day (TPD) cement plant at the Nkalagu Cement Industry.
He said the project would be executed in partnership with Jiangsu Pengfei Group Ltd as part of the state government’s efforts to revive industrial production and stimulate economic growth in Ebonyi.