The Ebonyi State House of Assembly has enacted legislation to regulate scrap trading, house rents, and estate agent fees to prevent exploitation and vandalism.

The legislation, passed at Wednesday’s plenary session presided over by the Speaker, Moses Odunwa, is titled “The Ebonyi State Sale of Scraps, House Rent and Agent Fees Regulation Law, 2026”.

The bill, which will become law once Governor Francis Nwifuru gives his approval, aims to regulate the sale, possession, transportation, and disposal of metal and electrical scraps, standardise house rents, and limit excessive agent fees.

It prohibits the purchase, sale, possession for sale, transportation, or disposal of metal or electrical scraps except when carried out by licensed dealers operating in accordance with regulations made under the law.

The legislation proposes imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine of up to ₦500,000 for offenders.

The legislation also stipulates that landlords who obtain possession of accommodation through fraud, misrepresentation or concealment of material facts commit an offence punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment.

It further caps agents’ fees at no more than two per cent of the gross amount of a property transaction.

From the commencement of the law, landlords are required to comply with standard rents prescribed by the governor for applicable categories of accommodation.

The law also requires all estate agents operating in the state capital to register with the Ministry of Capital City to promote transparency and professionalism in property transactions.

Presenting the bill, the House Leader, Kingsley Ikoro, said the legislation was designed to check vandalism, environmental degradation, and exploitative practices in the housing sector.

“This legislation is very important to us as a people because it will help check vandalism of critical assets, environmental degradation and exploitative practices in the housing sector,” Mr Ikoro said.

Contributing to the debate, Victor Nwoke, Aloysius Nwodo, Oluchukwu Ezeali, Friday Ogbuewu, and Celestine Ogba described the legislation as timely and necessary to address scrap theft and arbitrary rent increases.

The speaker noted that scrap dealers had caused considerable havoc in society, adding that if assented to, the legislation would promote public safety and restore sanity to property transactions.

The bill was considered clause by clause by the Committee of the Whole, with members correcting identified grammatical errors before unanimously passing it into law.

The House also approved the state Auditor-General’s report on the consolidated financial statements of the Ebonyi State Government for the year ending 31 December 2025, which stated that it conformed with accepted accounting principles.

The lawmakers screened and confirmed nine nominees of the governor as coordinators and members of the management committee of the Amasiri Development Centre in the Afikpo Local Government Area.

The screening took place after the development centre was reinstated, following its disbandment and delisting by the Ebonyi State Government.

(NAN)

The African Democratic Congress has raised the alarm over an alleged plan to arrest its National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State.

The party said it had received what it described as “credible reports” of plans to arrest the former Osun State governor in the days leading to the poll.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, on X on Wednesday, the ADC said it was concerned that the alleged arrest could be aimed at disrupting the party’s election activities.

“Given the pattern of intimidation, harassment and misuse of state institutions that has increasingly characterised the conduct of this government towards the opposition, we cannot afford to dismiss these reports,” Abdullahi said.

Aregbesola, who served as governor of Osun State from 2010 to 2018 and later as Minister of the Interior, is currently the National Secretary of the ADC.

The party said there were established procedures that should be followed if any security agency had lawful reasons to question its national secretary.

“Ogbeni Aregbesola is a former Governor of Osun State, a former Minister of the Federal Republic and the National Secretary of the opposition political party. If any security agency has a lawful reason to invite him, there are established procedures for doing so,” it said.

The ADC argued that arresting Aregbesola on the eve of an election in which the party is participating would raise questions about the motive behind such an action.

“An arrest on the eve of an election in which his party is participating would invite only one reasonable conclusion: that the purpose is to prevent him from leading and coordinating the party’s election activities,” the statement said.

The party consequently put the Federal Government and security agencies on notice, urging them to avoid actions that could undermine the credibility of the election.

“The eyes of Nigerians are on Osun,” Abdullahi said.

“Whatever happens before, during and after Saturday’s election will be judged not by the explanations offered afterwards, but by the actions taken now.”

The ADC also warned the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government against taking any action that could trigger political tension in the state.

“The APC Federal Government must be wary of doing anything that could plunge Osun State into needless crisis,” the party said.

The party further called on the government to respect democratic principles and ensure that political parties are allowed to participate freely in the election.

“Nigeria is still a democracy, and the government would do well to remember that before Saturday,” Abdullahi said.