The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, yesterday directed the immediate demolition of houses and other structures obstructing designated water channels and green spaces across the capital.
The exercise came barely three days after heavy rainfall submerged homes, businesses and vehicles in parts of the FCT, including the highbrow Maitama District.
While the FCT Administration said the demolition was necessary to restore waterways and prevent further flooding, those whose businesses were affected alleged that they were caught off guard and left counting their losses.
Wike, who gave the directive after inspecting flood-affected areas in Maitama, said the demolition would commence immediately and continue until Saturday, irrespective of ongoing political activities or the status of the owners of the affected properties.
“We will demolish all those houses found on the water channel. Some of them (the owners) are senators. Some of them are big men. Whether there is an election or no election, all those houses will go down. Heaven will not fall. Rather, heaven will be at peace that the right thing has been done,” he said.
The minister said the affected structures were not recently constructed and were largely owned by wealthy Nigerians, stressing that the government would no longer allow social status to prevent the enforcement of development regulations.
“In all those built-up areas that were not supposed to be built up, not a single poor person will live there. Those houses are houses built by well-to-do Nigerians. Those houses are not houses that were built last week. Those houses were there 10 years ago, eight years ago.
“I’m going to bring those houses down. Any house that is found on the water channel will go down. From today to Saturday, if Development Control delays, let them find any excuse to run away,” Wike warned.
The minister also frowned at the conversion of designated green areas in the capital into other uses, vowing that the administration would protect Abuja’s environmental assets.
He said the government would continue to enforce planning regulations irrespective of how long illegal developments had existed, adding that the administration would focus on addressing problems in the FCT rather than engage in political arguments.
Several mansions, particularly at Goalview Estate, Maitama Extension, Abuja, were flooded over the weekend.
Residents attributed the incident partly to indiscriminate construction along waterways and the blockage of drainage channels in the area.
But findings by one of our correspondents yesterday showed that the flooding may have been worsened by the obstruction of a major canal in the area.
Residents said that the canal had been covered with concrete to create a platform for construction, allegedly for a building linked to a serving senator from the North-East.
A visit to the area on Tuesday showed that a section of the major canal had actually been covered with concrete, apparently to create space for the construction of a structure.
Residents said the development had narrowed the waterway and obstructed the free flow of water along the corridor.
They attributed the severity of Saturday’s flooding in the area, in part, to the obstruction of the canal, saying the waterway could no longer accommodate the volume of runoff generated by the heavy rainfall.
They also alleged that some structures in the area were being erected on portions previously designated as green areas or within corridors meant to serve as waterways.
It was also observed that the problem was not limited to Goalview Estate and its environs, as several locations within Maitama District previously designated as green areas or drainage corridors are now being demarcated and developed.
Such activities were particularly noticeable along both sides of Ibrahim Babangida Boulevard and Alvan Ikoku Way where portions of open spaces and areas that serve as natural drainage routes are undergoing construction.
The situation has raised questions about compliance with approved building plans, the protection of drainage corridors and the enforcement of development regulations in the nation’s capital.
Business owners and workers affected by the demolition of structures in parts of Maitama, including Maitama Extension and the old WAEC building area around the Mississippi axis, have appealed to the FCT Administration to reconsider the exercise and provide a humane resolution.
They said they were caught off guard by the demolition, which they claimed had resulted in the loss of businesses, livelihoods and personal belongings. – Daily Trust.
