Ebonyi State Govt To Spend N1.7 Billion To Digitize Ministry Of Lands

By Alex Odeh I Pan Afric Reporters

The Ebonyi State Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Dr. Matthew Nwobashi, has said that the Ebonyi State House of Assembly has approved the same of N1.7 billion naira to digitize the Ebonyi State Ministry of Lands and Survey.

Dr. Nwobashi disclosed this during the annual mass service held at the Ministry to mark the resumption of work in the year 2026.

According to him, the digitisation if implemented is going to be one of the legacy projects for Nwifuru’s administration and will facilitate land administration online.

The Commissioner, however, warned staffs of the ministry to shun absenteeism, truancy and lateness to work but embrace dedication, cooperation and punctuality to duties.

According to the Commissioner, a situation where staffs abdicate their assignments, show lack of diligence, absenteeism and laziness to work will no longer be tolerated.

He said, “My expectation from my workers is dedication to duty which is, which I told them that punctuality is the soul of success of any business including government business like Ministry of Lands and Survey. So my expectation is that all of us should be dedicated to our duties in all ramifications.

He announced the approval by the Ebonyi State Government for the digitalisation of the ministry of lands and Survey, which will gulp over one billion Naira, even as he also stated that the ministry will establish Town Planning Authority in the three geopolitical zones of the States.

He said, “That is what I have considered as a legacy project for me as a Commissioner in this ministry and that is full digitalisation of this ministry.

“It is a project that will chuck a huge sum of money, over 1.7 billion Naira. But His Excellency the Governor-Right Honourable Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru has graciously included it in this year’s budget. I’ve been clamouring for it but I succeeded in Exco and he approved the inclusion in this year’s budget and it has been successfully passed in the State House Assembly.

“So if it is implemented, it is going to be a legacy not only for me but for this administration because if it is done, every Dick and Harry is in a position to do all land administration online without bothering him or herself to come to the ministry.

He recalled hitherto there had been zonal Town Planning Authority in Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi, but after the creation of the state, the town planning authorities were abolished, disclosing that the state government will soon establish zonal Town Planning Authority offices across the three Senatorial Districts.

“Before now, there used to be zonal offices of this ministry. When we were in Anambra State down to Enugu State, we have a Abakaliki Zonal Town Planning Authority. But since after the creation of the state, the zonal offices went into extinction. I want to reactivate it and that I’m going to do this year by establishing the offices in the three zones of the state. Ebonyi North Zone, Ebonyi Central Zone and Ebonyi South Zone. We are going to have Town Planning Authority in those zones”, Nwobashi said.

Speaking earlier during an homily, Reverend Father Chinedu Matthew Ogbonna, the Chaplaincy of the Ministry reflected on the theme that not all spirits are godly. He called on Christians to be careful to follow the voice of God, adding that many prophets had gone before us that we should be careful lest we are entrapped by those evil spirits.

He said, “Today being the 5th of January, our theme of reflection in the homily today is this, that not all spirits are godly. So we should always be careful to follow the voice of God and how do we detect the spirit that is of God.

“Any spirit that is assuring us that Jesus Christ took the form of a flesh is actually coming from God. Just like we have been told in today’s gospel reading or rather the first reading from Saint Paul that many prophets have gone before us that we should be careful lest we are entrapped by those evil spirits.

He admonished christains to be steadfast in their prayers to God for them to achieve what they want in life.

“So we should always be prayerful and we should always allow the voice of God to take us to where he wants us to be. Let us not be in a haste, let us pray and remain steadfast before God, before Christ and we will achieve what we want to achieve in life.

Reverend Father Chinedu Matthew Ogbonna further emphasized the essence of humility in the life of christains in order to entrap the blessing of God.

“Then secondly is that that spirit of humility is what we can use to entrap that spirit of God. Because when Christ came here on earth in Philippians chapter 2 verse 6 to 11, he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant. So that was why at the end God gave him a name that is above every other name, that at the mention of his name every knee must bow down and every tongue confessed that he is truly the son of God”, he said.

Highlight of the annual mass service was the cutting of cake for the birthday celebration of the Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Dr. Matthew Nwobashi.