In line with the need for easy identification of buildings across the state, the Anambra State Government has inaugurated the House Numbering Project which is expected to provide data that will be fed to Google Information System for use in the areas of security, e-commerce, emergency response coordination, town planning, and many others.
The State Signage and Advertisement Agency (ANSA) together with a private firm, Great Source will be responsible for the project and the exercise is expected to be completed within a year.
According to Prof Solo Chukwulobelu, the Secretary to the State Government who represented the Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano during the inauguration; he stated that the Governor instructed the Local Government Authorities to immediately embark on naming of streets and establishing all the directional signs before the numbering begins.
His words: “With this flag off, the state government is directing the local government authorities to immediately commence the naming of streets in their council areas. It will be problematic if the numbering is done without the streets having names. This is a noble initiative that will help us achieve better-planned cities across parts of the state”.
Furthermore, Governor Obiano also extolled the Anambra State House of Assembly for the speedy passage of laws that has helped make the developmental efforts of his administration seamless.
Conversely, Jude Emechetta, the Managing Director, Anambra State Signage Agency (ANSAA) explicated that streets naming and numbering constitutionally is supposed to be handled by the local governments but because of an understanding between Anambra State Government and the Local Governments, a Bill was passed by the State House of Assembly empowering the ANSAA to undertake the House numbering and other tasks while the money accruing from them will be shared between the State and Local Governments.
His words: “ANSAA was established to function for both the state and local governments in Anambra. Most of its terms of reference are statutory functions of the local government but there has been an understanding which was later backed up with a law, hence the involvement of the agency in this assignment. All we are asking is for the people to support the Agency on this initiative”.
According to him, numbering houses across the state will help in rectifying the muddle caused by improper house number; ensure proper identification and location of streets and houses during security and medical emergencies, for parcel deliveries, e-commerce among others.
On his part, Chief Emeka Okonkwo, the Chief Executive Officer of Great Source, who is also the House Numbering Project manager, expressed thanks to Governor Obiano for giving him the opportunity to carry out the project. He also assured that Anambra State will be turned into a smart city state at the end of the project.
InlandTown! 2020
