The Edo State Government has assured developers and other practitioners in the built environment that building master plans will now be processed and approval granted within ten working days.

In a statement, Commissioner for the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development (MPPUD), Isoken Omo, said the ministry has now been repositioned to ensure maintenance of the integrity of building master plans across Edo State, as part of its statutory responsibility of planning, granting approval and development control in the state.

She said after assuming office as Commissioner for MPPUD, the ministry engaged with stakeholders to intimate them of its intentions and the changes being introduced, noting that the ministry got feedback from the stakeholders on how to improve its services.

“We hitherto granted approvals and stamped the drawings without issuing the applicant with a document spelling out the terms and conditions of the approval. This created grey areas and issues of contraventions were not easy to deal with. The ministry has now streamlined its processes to improve service delivery. We have merged our application form and produced a checklist for development approval,” Omo noted.

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The commissioner continued: “We are shortening our approval process to 10 working days, once you bring your complete documents. The whole objective is to demystify approval processes. We also have added a clearinghouse where all applications are screened for correctness and compliance. We have started contacting those whose applications have been with us for years without approval to come and complete the process.

“On Tuesday, November 09, 2021, the ministry will be issuing the new Conveyance Letters to the applicants whose applications have been approved. We have about 15 of them. We want to invite them to our office and do a ceremony of handing over their approved Conveyance Letters with our revised terms and conditions of the approval.”

On some of the new measures introduced, she said, “This will drastically reduce the occasion of fraud. All records from the flag-off date onwards will be available on our system. It will make monitoring and enforcement easier. We would also be collecting data that will aid future planning and implementation.

“We need people to be aware that the Conveyance Letter is like a C-of-O from the MPPUD. It is a very important document which must be kept safe and secure as it shows that the house you are about to build is compliant with the State laws and requirements.”