By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The FCT Minister, Mallam Muhammad.Musa Bello has ordered immediate suspension of illegal development of Katampe Extension over distortion of the Abuja Masterplan.
The minister issued the directive to stop all activities in the area yesterday over proliferation of illegal estate development, illegal quarry allegedly constituting serious environmental challenges in the area, which is against the principle guiding the development of the city.
Coordinator Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, AMMC, Umar Shuaibu during a routine monitoring exercise disclosed that the Administration discovered that there were a lot of illegal development in the area which are not approved to anybody to commence development in the area.
Shuaibu warned everyone from carrying out earth works and other nefarious activities, adding such people will be arrested and made to face the wrath of the law.
The AMMC boss, who was accompanied by the representative of all the relevant departments and agencies in the development of the city, including the Police that provided security cover to the officials at the site, promised that all activities will be subjected to scrutiny by the relevant professionals.
The FCT Minister has further directed that all matters relating to quarry activity should be channeled to the newly established Department of Solid mineral and allied matters, which is the regulatory authority.
“So, from now, we have stopped whatever activity that is taking place here for any type of development, as whatever development that is going on here is illegal, because we have not given approval to anybody to commence development here.”
“And that is why we are having environmental challenges. People are blasting rocks here, thereby endangering the houses around, so there is no way we can allow it to continue.”
“Whatever development that involves rock blasting, must go through the Solid mineral and Allied matters Department, which is created to take care of that now. “
And anybody who is blasting rocks and clearing land here is doing so illegally, and anyone caught in the act will be arrested”, the minister warned.
