By ADEMOLA ADEGBITE, Abuja
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has promised to compensate affected residents, shop owners and others whose property were demolished if they have genuine grievances and complaints.
FCTA Permanent Secretary, Mr Olusade Adesola, who made this promise in Abuja at a sensitisation campaign on the ongoing removal of Illegal structures in the territory, further assured them that the administration would look into their cases in due course.
Mr Adesola, whose message was delivered by the Director, Permanent Secretary’s Office, Mr Udoh Samuel Anang, therefore, appealed to the victims to remain calm and be law-abiding.
According to him: “May I draw the attention of this important audience to the fundamental reasons that necessitated the relocation of the nation’s capital from Lagos to Abuja. Some of such include, unplanned urban layouts, indiscriminate construction of residential and commercial structures, among others.
“You will all agree with me that if not for constant and courageous operations in the enforcement of physical development in Abuja, the city would have become a major slum by now.
“FCT Administration will continue to operate within the ambit of all extant laws and regulations governing the physical planning and development of the FCT and will respect the rights of citizens, particularly the original Inhabitants,” he assured.
Also speaking, the secretary, Garki Community, Lazarus Nyaholo, absolved local chiefs of illegally allocating lands to residents, insisting that most indigenous lands were being sold by individual landowners.
Earlier, the Director, FCT Department of Reform Coordination, Dr Jummai Ahmadu, said shanties and illegal structures keep springing up in the Federal Capital City (FCC) and satellite towns despite several sensitisation efforts and warning to that effect.
She said the responsibility of preserving the aesthetic beauty of the FCT is a collective approach, including the FCT Administration which is taking a bold step at removing illegal structures and shanties.
Dr Ahmadu, therefore, assured that the interest of original inhabitants was paramount to the administration and would not hesitate to compensate all those with genuine grievances and petitions. (Nigerian Tribune)
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