The Anambra State government has announced plans to reward landlords with a cash gift of N10 million award if they were among the first to repaint their houses.

Particularly, he said, the competition will first be beneficial to landlords on the first street in Onitsha who complete the repainting of their buildings between February 1 and March 10, 2024.

Anambra State deputy governor, Dr Onyekachukwu Ibezim announced this during an interactive session with landlords in Onitsha South Local Government Area, which was held at the council secretariat, on Wednesday.

The deputy governor, Ibezim observed that most houses in Onitsha do not have soak-away pits, and those that have, lacked proper channeling into the Sakamori drainage system and Nwangene River.

The result, he stated was it caused health hazards to inhabitants, which does not speak well of the largest commercial town in sub-Saharan Africa.

“The essence of this meeting is for us to interface with you all, the landlords, on the need to clear the blocked drains, clear the refuse dumps, plant trees, and paint your buildings to give this pla faceliftiftt”

The deputy governor, Ibezim also warned the Onitsha landlords that the state government would no longer tolerate the defacing of Onitsha, which is the commercial nerve center of the state.

On his part, the Anambra State Commissioner for Environment, Felix Odimegwu explained that the interactive session was convened to sensitize landlords on the need for them to ensure drains are cleanedplantng trees, and painting the building.