BENIN CITY- The Benin Monarch, Oba Erediauwa has charged the Edo State Taskforce on Illegal Structures, Street Trading and Traffic Obstruction to help the palace recover the Benin traditional moat for the kingdom.
Oba Erediauwa gave the charge when members of the taskforce led by its Chairman Major Lawrence Loye (rtd), paid a courtesy visit to the palace weekend.
The Oba said there was need for the task force to work closely with the Benin Moat Foundation headed by Chief Nosakhare Isekhure.
This, the monarch said, will enable the taskforce to identify the right of way of the moat and help in clarifying likely areas of controversy.
He urged members of the taskforce to be impartial and ensure that there is fairness and transparency in the discharge of their duties.
The Omo N’Oba later gave them his royal blessings and charged them to be focused.
Earlier, the taskforce chairman major Lawrence Loye (rtd) told the Oba that the purpose of the visit was to intimate the palace how far the taskforce has gone in reclaiming the moat back as it is part of the world heritage site, by demolishing illegal structures built around it.
He noted that the moat is supposed to be a classified area as it is the Benin traditional moat and one of the world heritage sites, adding that any structure built on the moat is an illegal structure whether such structure has Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) or not.
Major Loye lamented that those who built on the moat did it deliberately to block the moat, adding that the danger caused by their actions had resulted into floods ravaging parts of the city, in some cases, loss of lives and properties worth millions of naira.
He, however, noted that the first phase of the demolition of houses built on the moat had been completed while the second phase will commence soon.
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