The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA),on Wednesday in Abuja, began a weekly site inspection and enforcement exercise to curtail the rate of contraventions of building approvals in the territory.
The Director, FCTA Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, made the disclosure while conducting some journalists on inspection of project sites in Guzape, Asokoro, Katampe Extension districts and National Assembly Quarters, Apo.
Galadima decried that many developers took advantage of the lockdown period to carried out illegal develoments, by either building without approvals or building above approved number of units as well as arbitrary change of landuse.
“I can attribute what you are saying to the unfortunate incidence of the COVID-19 pandemic because most of these deviations have occurred during this period of lockdown.
“And from what I have seen, it is either we condone or we condemn the contraventions.
“Those we cannot condone, we apply appropriate sanctions, either the payment of contravention charges where it is necessary and as approved by the authority, or where it is not, we remove the illegal structures automatically.
“We could also subject such contraventions to certain parameters, including paying for the whole value of that building to government.
“And for us to do that, we also have to check these parameters in terms of parking adequacy, plot coverage and density of the area.
“At the end of the day, if we find out that these parameters are in agreement, then the developer is surcharged to pay the value of the property put on ground, ” Galadima said.
The director warned that the FCT Administration would deal with each contravention based on its uniqueness.
He described the Guzape and Katampe extension developments as impunity and flagrant abuses of building regulations.
Galadima regretted that the developers had almost completed building eight units on each sites, instead of the four units approved by the authorities.
“We were in Asokoro because of the past experience where somebody tried to modify what was approved for residential to hotel development. That’s why we have been careful and cautious.
“The development adjoining that area, we have to be careful, that is why we are monitoring it from the excavation stage on a daily basis, to make sure they do not short-change the authority and become nuisance to the society.”
Galadima, who expressed concern over total disregard for quit and stop work notices by a developer, who carried on unperturbed inside the National Assembly Quarters, Apo, ordered the demolition of the property within 24-hours.
He warned the public to desist from building any structure in the nation’s capital without obtaining approvals from relevant authorities.
He stressed that department would catch up with all illegal developers and correct them accordingly.
“This is a continuous exercise dedicated to management sites’ visit, and the essence of the visits is to inspect areas that have peculiar challenges and gather ideas on how to resolve them.” (NAN)
