By Daniel Tyokua
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has marked illegally built estates at Idu Train Station, Apo-Tapi and Lugbe Areas for demolition.
The Director, Department of Development Control, Murktar Galadima said demolition notices have been served to all appropriate quarters, which its officials will soon embark on a massive removal exercise.
Briefing journalists in Abuja at the weekend, Galadima said the initiative became necessary, due to the rising adverts on social media by land grabbers and illegal developers of housing estates.
He explained that the areas have not yet being detailed with design layout, but people are carrying fake title document that it is been allocated by AMAC.
The Director added that it is against the development rules and regulations for somebody while in the course of implementing his or her plan to change it without recourse to seeking approval for modified plan.
Murktar noted that with constitution of FCT Urban and Planning Tribunal, land grabbing and other menace will be reduced, as there would be prosecution of defaulters.
He also revealed that developers of illegal structures and land grabbers will be made to pay for the cost of demolition and afterwards be handed over to Police for diligent prosecution.
“Our attention has been drawn to some areas of the city where people are developing without any title developments. And we want to educate the public and to inform them that some of these adverts are on illegal developments.
“As the department of Development Control in FCT, we found it expedient to adequately inform the citizens on the need to secure building plan and approval to enable them develop inline with what is being approved.
“We know that in the course of implementing development proposals there are rooms for modifications, adjustments and the wisest thing to do is to resubmit the design and seek for approval before changing any aspect of the approved plan, failure to do so is an apparition of what was really approved for the developer.
“But, I would like to reiterate that all illegal developments along the Idu Train Station, Apo Tapi and Lugbe Areas, where people are busy spending money, and unsuspecting Nigerians are subscribing to these housing estates, we are saying now these are illegal developments, and we have served all relevant notices, so at an appropriate time, we are going to remove them.”
