Andrew Tarker, Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), via Department of Development Control (DDC) has warned thathousing estates and other developments along Idu Train Station, Apo Tapi and Lugbe areas within the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) are illegal and will sooner than later be removed.
Making this disclosure during a press briefing on Friday, DDC Director, Mukhtar Galadima, said the alarm became necessary, due to the rising adverts on social media by land grabbers and illegal developers of housing estates.
“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.”
Galadima explained that these areas have not yet being detailed with design layout, but people are carrying fake title documentsthat it is been allocated by AMAC.
He 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.
He 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 the Police for diligent prosecution.
According to him: “Our attention has been drawn to some areas of the city where people are developing without any title documents. 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 in line with what is 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.