By Daniel Tyokua
The Federal Capital Territory Administration ,FCTA, Department of Development Control has given 9 banks and other business firms a seven-day ultimatum to relocate or risk closure.
Acting Director Department of Development Control, Garba Kwamkur gave the directive after sensitization of business owners on Tuesday.
He said the banks located on Gana street, with three business organizations situated on Nyasa close and Ontario crescent all in Maitama had contravened land use which is in violation of the nation’s capital, Abuja master plan.
“We have the matching order from the minister to ask those that violated the land use to revert, he is worried about the conversion of residential premises to commercial places, constituting nuisance”.
Kwamkur called on the operators to relocate to Central business district or revert to the original residential plan.
He disclosed that the Department had a week ago, served all the buildings that have currently been converted to commercial areas, notification to revert them to the residential purposes which they were meant for, but failed to comply.
Also ’99’ bar lounge located on Ebira road, off Richard Egbule close in Karu-site was sealed by the officials of the Department of Development Control.
However, Kwamkur disclosed that over 200 hectares of land have been encroached upon by Criminals with fake and cloned tittle documents in Sabon-Lugbe.
He said the 1976 decree that forms Abuja, stipulates that any development to be carried out within the confines of the territory needs a government permit from the department of development control before undertaking any housing projects.
According to him, the department will forward the list of suspected offenders to the FCT Police commissioner to track and prosecute them as specified by the law.
“We have served them stop work notices, quit notices as spelt out in the 1992 Urban and Regional Planning Law, but the have ignored all our notices and proceeded to develop these plots without building approvals.
“Currently we have a list of well over 150 of them and we will be sending the list to the police commissioner to further prosecution.”
