FCT to demolish 10,288 illegal structures

ABOUT 10,288 illegal structures have been marked for demolition in Mpape in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The FCT says it has intensified its consultation with the village chiefs and residents on the impending exercise in the area. But the Community Action for Popular Participation (CAPP) has condemned the planned demolition.

Two weeks ago, the FCT Department of Development Control gave a notice to residents of the sprawling satellite located in the Bwari Area Council to vacate the settlement to give way for a planned demolition of what the authorities called ‘illegal structures in the area’.

The FCT Department of Development Control gave the residents an ultimatum to pack out of their homes on or before August 31.

Consequent upon the development, the residents staged a demonstration to protest against what they called the FCT Authority’s insensitivity to their predicament.

During the monthly operations meeting in Abuja yesterday, the FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed, hailed the court pronouncement last Friday on the impending Mpape demolition and urged the affected persons to show understanding in the matter.

Mohammed explained that while the administration would uphold the rule of law in consonance with the transformation agenda of the Federal Government, the court had justified the mandate of the FCT Administration for such action thus far.

In a statement by its Executive Director, Mrs. Kyauta Giwa, CAPP urged the FCT Administration to review its plan.

CAPP stressed that the planned demolition of houses in the FCT and in some parts of the country should be done with caution and consideration for the people that might be affected.

It noted that rural-urban migration had been caused by the gap between the rich and the poor who struggle to make ends meet.