By Stanley Onyekwere
The FCT Administration has reiterated its resolve to demolish all illegal structures along the road in Mpape Community, in order to save the people from any untoward situation that could threaten both human lives and the environment.
Recall that the FCTA had issued a-two-week demolition notice to residents of Mpape, which is one of the densely populated suburbs of Abuja.
It was explained that the two weeks notice was in line with the policy of its to carry all relevant stakeholders along in sensitising all affected communities, and ensuring maximum compliance.
According to the Chairman, FCT Ministerial Committee on City Sanitation, Ikharo Attah, said the planned demolition was in response to the cry of the residents who had complained that activities of traders and mechanics, illegally occupying the road corridors were obstructing traffic flows.
Attah however, noted that the purported directive from a Commissioner of Public Complaint Commission that demolition within the city should be halted, can’t prevent the removal of all illegal structures constituting environmental nuisances.
He said: “We will be entering Mpape in the next two weeks. We have asked them to remove whatever is on the roadside. The beauty of the exercise, is that it was the Landlords and tenants who wrote to the Minister to come for the demolition.
“They said the whole road stretch is not passable, a journey from Mpape to the city centre that should take 6 or 7 minutes, is now 1 or two hours because of traffic gridlock.
“ We are moving into Mpape with up to six bulldozers to remove every nuisances. It is going to be massive removal of illegal containers occupying the road shoulders, all mechanic workshops, car wash and blood industries and all the attachment that people have located on the road.
“ We are also going to ensure that all undeveloped plots of land along the road shoulders are left empty, so that activities there will not flow to the road.
“ The alleged directive from a Commissioner of the Public Complaint Commission did not mention Mpape, the Commissioner referred to the exercise at Iddo Sarki, where some people alleged that we demolished indigenous peoples houses.
“ The Commissioner has gone to the community and have discovered that no house belonging to any indigene was demolished.
“ I can state that not a single house belonging to an Abuja indigene was demolished. The houses that were demolished at Iddo Sarki were all houses built by people who illegally bought land from local Chiefs. Over 90 percent of the demolished buildings were actually owned by uniformed people “, Attah added.
