…No plans to compensate affected houses owners – FCTA
By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
In a continuous clean up exercise, the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, today at Zamani village in the Airport demolished 600 illegal houses.
The Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring Inspection and Enforcement to the minister of FCT, Ikahro Attah, who spoke to journalists at the demolition venue, further warned that local Chiefs do not have right to sell land and people should stop buying land from them.
Attah said, “For me I don’t think I can quantify the house, there are Development Control workers who are taking note but I can say over 600 illegal structures were pulled down.”
“The Minister has issued that warning times without number, we paying a Kobo, they have gone against the urban and regional planning acts . They have violated the law. It cost the administration money, hours and manpower to clear them. ”
Meanwhile Attah revealed, “We are not paying any compensation because they violated the law building illegal structures. We are not done with Zamani community, we have a city to protect. Someone came to offer bribe and the man spoke a language close to my own I refused, later the indigenous people came and claim the house is theirs but I said no because someone already came to offer me bribe and I refused.”
“They showed us some houses that were not their own.”
According to him, no chief has right to sell land, adding that the ones Area councils allocated always go back to FCDA for recertification.
He stressed that the Chiefs even denied selling lands, as the they never sold land.
“We met them about three weeks ago and the Chiefs said the land they sold were to their own farm lands which they in turn sold to other people to farm on. But they turned their farmland into house that has no building plans.”
The SSA lamented, “What is really painful is that we suspended work on Monday in order to allow people to pack but most of them did not do what they should have done. Some persons are thinking Government is not serious but they should have known that FCT Minister is really committed to restoring the Abuja Master plan.
The Minister has warned severally that the locals should stop selling land and the non indigiens should also stop buying land from them. What most of them do not know is that the indiegens have rights and they are due for resettlement and compensation” .
Director, Development Control Department, Murkhtar Galadima, who supervised the exercise warned his staff against taking any bribe from any person, promising to use the civil service rule against those found wanting.
“Today, we have worked to pull down over 615 illegal structures.”
“I have been hearing from some people that they allegedly contributed N100,000 to stop their houses being demolished but the work still went on. Anyone who gives or collects money is at his own risk because we will still do our job.”
“Apart from the fact that we are going to apply the civil service rule, any staff caught might lose his job. Because this is serious work .”
A resident whose house was affected, Bamidele Taiwo, lamented that about 7 years ago he bought a land from the Chief, but that his house was affected leaving his family are outside with all their luggage.
We later heard that it is people that didn’t settle them that they are demolishing their houses, he also accused the indigenes of pointing out houses for demolition.
Another Zamani resident, Bolaji Ganiyu who complained said”I bought land from the Chief of Zamani for N100,000 but nobody told us about the issue of indigenes, now they removed our houses and all our properties are outside.
Affected houses owners told journalists that when their houses were marked they met the Chief of Jiwa and also went to Humanright Radio for them to plead on our behalf to give us at least 6 month notice but they refused.
Some residents blamed FCTA for carrying out the demolition during the Ramadan period.
Some people bribe the indigenes they left some houses.
We are fast, at least in the spirit of Ramadan, they could have left it till after fasting. Now during election they will say we are one, which is a lie, the bemoaned.
