By Sarah NEGEDU
The Federal Capital Territory Administration, through its department of Development Control on Thursday, pulled down 11 structures in the Apo-Dutse area of Abuja for violating development and safety regulations.
The buildings, comprising three- and four-bedroom duplexes, were reportedly constructed beneath a high-tension line and along the corridor of a planned bridge project.
Speaking with journalists after the demolition exercise, the Director of Development Control, Tpl. Mukhtar Galadima, said that the developer ignored multiple stop-work notices served them at every building stage, but rather continued construction on the disputed plot.
He explained that although the developer was originally allocated the plot, the allocation was made in error, and the developer had since been offered an alternative site, which they declined before proceeding with the illegal construction.
In his words, “This is a statutorily allocated plot. They requested for approval and applied for building plan approval, which we declined for the fact that it’s in close proximity to a high-tension line, as well as a stream channel. So, we declined to grant approval, but they moved ahead to work.
“We have been serving notices, even from the excavation stage. Various stages of development, we’ve been serving notices, we even communicated to them in writing that the work should be stopped. But unfortunately, maybe considering their institution and agency, they moved on.”
Galadima revealed that the FCDA Engineering Department had written to notify his office of plans to construct a bridge on the same section of the district, making demolition unavoidable.
On possible compensation to the affected developer, the Director said no such plans are in the offing, insisting that only properties with approved building plans are eligible for compensation when affected by public works.
Galadima explained that, “Compensation is given to any property that has approval but then it’s being cut off by development process. In this case, there was no approval; you were asked to stop at the excavation stage, you didn’t comply, so there’s no compensation.”
The Director added that the Department may prosecute defaulting developers and surcharge them for the cost of demolition and site clearance, as part of ongoing efforts to enforce compliance with FCT planning standards.
