The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has announced plans to demolish more than 10 buildings in an estate located in the Wumba area of Abuja within the next 48 hours for encroaching on waterways and green zones.
The planned demolition followed multiple warnings issued to the developers, which were reportedly ignored.
Chief Felix Obuah, Coordinator of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), disclosed this on Thursday during an inspection tour of the area alongside development control officials.
Obuah also visited Utako, where he condemned ongoing illegal developments by a developer he described as persistently defiant of regulatory orders.
He said, “I did promise that every illegal structure going on in Abuja would go down. I am here again today to see that we have mobilized equipment and personnel to make sure that the illegal structure going on in this area in Utako, in the waterway, is going down.
“You can see for yourself, we have mobilized machinery and personnel. Just like I did promise, the whole thing is going down. We have to actually make sure that we sanitize this nonsense that is going on in Abuja. We can’t allow it to happen, because the Minister meant well. He is doing all his best. For those of us who are in AMMC, it is left for us to do the needful, which we are doing.
“You can see the workers and that work is still going on. When we invited the developers to provide legal documents for the activities they were carrying out, we discovered that there were no papers, no approval, no allocation. So I asked him to stop work. You can see that the work is still going on. So these properties that you are seeing there, they are all going down.
“Come back here in the next 48 hours, you’d see everything down. I have told you we are not going to take it lightly again with any illegal developer that doesn’t want to retain the master plan of Abuja.
“This area is a green area. We have invited the developer and asked him to stop working but then he doesn’t want to do that. The only language he will hear is, we will bring everything here down. That is all”, he declared.
Director, Department of Development Control, Muktar Galadima also disclosed that the developers had no approvals.
Galadima said; “We invited the developer to provide legal documents. There was nothing, no approval, no allocation. Instead of stopping, work continued, so we had no choice but to act”.
He stressed that the enforcement would not only continue but would be intensified across the city.
“Abuja must be guided by its Master Plan. Wherever violations exist be it green areas, flood plains, or road corridors we will reclaim them. Illegal developers must understand that the only language we speak now is compliance,” Galadima said. “We will not allow impunity. If you do not have the legal backing for your structure, it is coming down”, Galadima added.
The Director, FCT Parks and recreation, Tpl. Chinemelu Echee painted a vivid picture of what’s at stake.
He said; “If you look around these facilities, you’d see it’s surrounded by hills, rocks, and beautiful trees. This is the natural terrain designed for recreation. These are spaces meant to serve the estates nearby places where families come to relax and breathe. Yet, what we are witnessing is the destruction of the ecosystem without any authorization.”
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He warned that the illegal developments in places like Wumba District Park are disasters waiting to happen.
“These hills and trees are supposed to cool the environment and help mitigate global warming, but instead, they’re being wiped out,” he said.
According to Echee, the area bears the features of a recreation zone, yet developers have moved in without any valid allocation.
He said; “Everything here is illegal. If it had a name or legal allocation, we would know. We’re not only halting the destruction we’re reversing it”.