Stories by Stanley Onyekwere
The FCT Administration has cautioned residents of the flood trodden Lokogoma in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) to stop building on waterways or channels, so as to avert reoccurring deadly flood in the area.
This caution was handed down by the FCTA through its Department of Development Control, Urban and Regional Planning, FCT Emergency Management Department, Water Board, Engineering Services department of the FCDA and other relevant department, yesterday, during their Joint Site Visit (JSV) to areas of challenges and special interests in the city.
In their separate interviews with newsmen after the exercise, they unanimously agreed that the proactive and periodic steps taken by government agencies and other stakeholder, as it is just an ad hoc measure to safeguard lives and properties, as permanent solution to flooding problem is provision of engineering infrastructure.
Director, Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, who led the team to the sites, disclosed that the Department intends to remove all those encroachments on the waterways.
Galadima also added that beyond removing identified encroachments, it intends to use its machines and equipment to see how it expand the water channels, so that water can have an easy flow.
He said: “We have marked them to stop any further encroachment, and we are going to remove those identified encroachments in the area.
“But, this is enough notice that they should stop any building on waterways especially those trying to rebuild demolished structures in the highly prone areas.
“Lokogoma axis is an area that everybody in Abuja knows about when it comes to flooding, so in order to be proactive, that’s why we invited all relevant stakeholders, departments and agencies to come, and let’s put our heads together on what can we do to safeguard lives and properties there
“Whatever we’re doing is just an ad hoc measure to protect lives and properties, but permanent solution to this problem is provision of engineering infrastructure.
According to him: “The visit today is a periodic joint inspection, or we call it joint site visit, to areas of challenges and special interests.
“The first place we visited, which is Usuma district, there were concerns raised by different stakeholders as regards to the development along the proximity of Usman Dam.
“So, that’s why the Department of Development Control thought it fit to invite relevant stakeholders to visit the site and see on the spot what is really happening.
“We also try as much as possible to suggest collaboration, so as to maintain and protect the integrity of the Usman Dam.
“We discovered that people are developing their properties, but mostly we saw some people developing within the precinct of their plot.
“However, there are some that look suspicious, which we ask the relevant agencies and departments to go back and check the status of those plots and their development procedures.
“Where there is no approval, it is just to declare so. Luckily, they are just at excavation stage. Where it is not within the status of maybe the layout or the scheme,
URP is to take action and all other relevant agencies will follow accordingly.”
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