Thursday, the New Enugu City Management Agency bill scaled through the second reading in the parliament.

The bill, if passed, is designed to decongest the Enugu metropolis.

Leading a debate on the bill, the member representing Ezeagu Constituency, Chima Obieze, said the idea of creating a new Enugu city was commendable because it would help to depopulate the Enugu urban.

Mr Obieze expressed the hope that the new city would afford civil servants and other workers in the state to buy land and build houses for themselves.

The lawmaker urged the state government to make adequate provisions for the poor and middle class in the new city and urged the government to avoid the temptation of building the city for rich individuals.

He enjoined Governor Peter Mbah to consider building an estate that would be affordable for the residents of the state, stressing that the poor people in the state deserve to live in a conducive house.

While contributing, Mr Lebechi Eze, representing the Isi-uzo constituency, said the agency would help manage the new city and commended Mr Mbah for his move to develop other parts of Enugu.

Mr Eze maintained that the management agency would assist the government in planning the city to avoid mistakes being experienced currently in the metropolis, urging the agency to make provision for recreational centres in the new city.

The minority leader, Iloabuchi Aniagu, revealed that the state government plans to make the new city strictly a residential area and equip it with facilities to make the place conducive for its residents.

He warned the agency not to repeat the mistake of turning the new Enugu city into a commercial area, which the Independence Layout, the New Haven and the Government Reservation Area (GRA) have been turned into.

According to him, turning the new city into a commercial area would defeat the purpose of creating the city.

Mr Aniagu pointed out that the bill seeks to establish a new management agency to design a master plan for the new city, stressing that the new management would manage and control the city’s development.

The speaker, Uche Ugwu, directed the committees on Lands, ECTDA, Judiciary and Housing to conduct a public hearing on the bill and submit their report on January 30.

(NAN)