Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru has presided over an emergency meeting of the Ebonyi State Executive Council (EXCO), approving a series of policy decisions aimed at strengthening housing regulation, infrastructure, healthcare, tourism, education, and industrial development across the state.
The meeting, held on Monday, July 20, 2026, followed the governor’s return from an official trip to China, where the state explored investment opportunities expected to boost Ebonyi’s economy.
One of the major decisions reached by the council was the approval of an Executive Bill for transmission to the Ebonyi State House of Assembly to regulate house rents, the activities of property agents, and the sale of metal and electrical scraps in the state.
Under the proposed legislation, registered house agents will no longer be allowed to charge more than 2 percent of the total rent as agency fees. The government said the measure is intended to curb excessive charges by agents and ease the financial burden on tenants, particularly in Abakaliki and other urban areas.
The proposed scrap regulation bill will also provide a legal framework for the buying, selling, possession, transportation, and disposal of metal and electrical scraps to combat vandalism, protect public infrastructure, promote environmental sustainability, and enhance public safety.
In the area of culture and tourism, EXCO approved the establishment of Ebonyi State Herbal Heritage Gardens across the state’s three senatorial zones, with one garden to be located in each zone.
The project will be jointly implemented by the Ministries of Culture and Tourism, Health, and Agriculture and Natural Resources. Government also approved immediate stakeholder engagement, site identification, and the development of a regulatory framework in collaboration with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and relevant research institutions.
A supplementary memorandum is expected within 90 days to provide legislation for standardisation, intellectual property protection, and integration of herbal medicine into primary healthcare services.
On infrastructure, the council directed the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice to conclude the termination process of all abandoned and uncompleted 2-kilometre road projects by Wednesday, July 22, 2026.Special EXCO committees have also been constituted for each local government area to ensure the affected road projects are completed before September 2026. The Commissioner for Special Projects, Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Obichukwu, was directed to immediately compile an inventory of all uncompleted projects for further action.
The council also received a report on the state’s recent investment mission to China, highlighting plans to digitise secondary education through smart technology.
According to the report, a company will be established at the ICT University, Oferekpe, to manufacture digital cameras and other electronic devices. The government further disclosed that the university will operate independently of the national electricity grid, with a dedicated power supply already secured through the procurement and delivery of generating sets.
In another major industrial development, EXCO approved the proposed design, construction, and operation of a 6,000 TPD EPC Cement Plant at the Nkalagu Cement Industry in collaboration with Jiangsu Pengfei Group Limited.
