…Says Mpape, Dutse, Ushafa Next In Line

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) returned to Iddo Sarki today and demolished over 473 illegal structures, just a week after the dust had settled and the tears had dried following last week’s demolition activity.

While warning that those living in unlawful constructions in Mpape, Dutse Makaranta, and Ushafa will be the next targets for this enormous clean-up.

Recall that the FCTA dismantled over 137 illegal structures over the weekend, including blocks of hostels, hotels, and other structures.

An enforcement team composed of the Nigeria Navy, Nigeria Police Force, DSS, NSCDC, NDLEA, Nigeria Immigration Service, and DRTS, is
working with five bulldozers, was able to demolish 473 unlawful structures in a single day.

While fielding questions from newsmen on the reason why the administration return to Iddo for the ‘mother of all demolitions’, the Chairman, FCT Ministerial Committee on City Sanitation, Comrade  Ikharo Attah, said his team had to go back to Iddo to complete the good work it has started in the town.

According to him, abandoning the demolition process halfway, and uncompleted will only encourage reemergence of unlawful constructions and continuance of illegality which would further aggravate the violations of the Abuja Master Plan.

Attah also warned developers and FCT residents against buying land from traditional Chiefs in the nation’s capital, saying that only the FCT Minister (not even FCT Minister of State) is legally empowered to allocate any portion of the FCT’s 8,000 square kilometres of land.

His words; “Why we came back to here was because we did not finish the clean up. We thought we had fine very far, not until we noticed that the Land Use Contraventions have been very high and disturbing.

“So we had to come back here today (Wednesday) to continue the clean up. Thanks to directors of Development Control and Security who put heads together for us to get five machines to work with which made our job easier.

“Some of the illegalities of land contravention include buying land from local Chiefs, building without building plan approvals, building substandard structures and the authorities will not allow these to continue because the city is planned and when we see contravention, it is the mandate of the FCTA to take it out.”

While responding to a question on whether there was any compensation for them, Attah said: “They have been warned before and when you commit illegality…..we even ought to take them to court but we are living them. The Chiefs who gave them the land have denied that they gave them land.”

Attah also sent a strong warning to those residing in illegal structures within Mpape, Dutse Makaranta, Ushafa and others areas to either move out or comply, adding that they were next in line for similar clean up exercises.

He said: “We have to rush this work now because the people of Mpape, Dutse Makaranta and Ushafa -both the residents and landlords are begging the FCT Minister to come and clean up their area, so we will soon be going to assist them.

“We are seeing encroachments even in the Lower Usuma Dam where we get our safe water to drink. We don’t want people to go there and pollute our water.”

Similarly , the Secretary, Command and Control Centre of the FCTA, Mr. Peter Olumuji said another reason demolishing the structures was because they harboured criminals who constitute insecurity within the area and the whole of FCT.

According to him : “one of the reasons why we are here is because such places hibernate criminals because they can get cheaper houses to rent.

“We have had a sustained clean up operation on the airport road and this has led to reduction in the rate of crime and criminality in the FCT”,he added.

The ongoing construction of lock-up shops at the Karu Primary Healthcare Centre, which is being carried out by the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) in collaboration with a private developer, has been ordered to be halted immediately by Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The minister who issued the cease work order also declared that the FCT Administration will organize a committee to analyze the profitability of the existing building work at the main healthcare facility during an inspection trip of the facilities.

Aliyu, who expressed severe reservations about the Karu primary healthcare centre’s location, pointed out that the centre was not serene due to the proximity of the abattoir and other commercial activities around the healthcare facility.

She, however, affirmed that construction of additional lock-up shops by the Abuja Municipal Area Council within the premises of the primary healthcare centre could compound the existing situation.

According to her; “It is pertinent to put a stop to this ongoing construction work. A ministerial committee will be set with effect from today for immediate action and the scope will be made known to you.

“Membership will include even the operators of the abatoir. Take a look at the abattoir, you cannot have a primary healthcare facility as strategic as the Karu primary healthcare is, and exposed it to so many hazards.

“Having the abattoir here alone is hazard to the functions of the primary healthcare not to talk of a commercial place again. This is a very big project with so many shops around it will over exposed the facility.

“It could be acceptable to have the Sickle Cell Center or the AMAC health secretariat. We will look at this and other land functions that could be allocated, but certainly it is unhealthy to have these shops here.

“It is already bad enough to have the raw meat sellers within the vicinity and it will be worst to allow other commercial activities to go on here. If we must change the land use, we must engage the community effectively because you cannot have a hospital or healthcare centre where there are so many noisy activities”.

Earlier, the Director of Works, Abuja Municipal Area Council, Arc. Gaza Andrew, informed the minister that the initial project was the completion of the abandoned Sickle Cell Centre and AMAC Healthcare Centre, stressing that with the involvement of Development Control the council later added the design for corner shops.

“Right here is an abandoned foundation of a sickle cell center, it was abandoned for over 10 years. The paramount ruler personally in 2020 wrote to us that due to the growing cases of sickle cell this project should be completed,” he affirmed.