Federal Capital Territory Administration has lifted the ban on building approvals.
Newsonline Nigeria reports that in order to generate an efficient database for sustainable city development, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has commenced a comprehensive post-development audit of Abuja Satellite Towns, signaling the recommencement of processing and granting of building approvals in the areas.
Flagging off the exercise on Tuesday in the Dawaki area of Abuja, Director, FCT Department of Development Control (DDC), TPL Mukhtar Galadima, said the process aimed at enabling the department to access and grant building approval to those who had built without approval.
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Galadima stated that property owners in satellite towns are expected to submit the requisite information for necessary action within 21 days.
He noted that there is a new policy in the FCT looking at the new administration direction, which requires them to do whatever they can to put things in order.
He appealed to residents to give FCTA officials maximum cooperation, as the exercise is for the benefit of all.
He recalled that, due to the lack of engineering design in these satellite towns, the authorities were not granting approvals to some of them. However, some, like Dawaki, where the exercise kicked off, now have an engineering design.
He said, “What is taking place is a post-development audit of Satellite Towns. You know, because of the lack of engineering design in these satellite towns, we were not granting approvals to some of them. But some, like Dawaki, where we are starting now to have engineering design,
“There are over 15 towns, such as Gwagwalada, Kuje, Karshi, Bwari, Abaji, etc. But we want to cover all the satellite towns.
So, we are commencing the post-development audit so that those that were built without approvals can now be assessed and granted such approvals.”
Explaining the modality for the exercise, the director said: “We have drafted a format where we are going to divide these settlements into clusters, and the officers have been distributed into the clusters.
They will go out and share the format and explain it to the owners of the built property, letting them know the essence of the exercise.
“Within 21 days, we are expecting the owners of the property to submit the requisite information expected of them for necessary action.
“It is in line with the existing laws because, in FCT, you cannot build without approval. So, if you have built without approval, the best way to go is to furnish us with the necessary information within the stipulated time.
If it is something that can be approved as built, we can approve it. But if it is something that we cannot approve, we will say it can’t be condoned; hence, we have to remove it.
“As a city, we need to have a database for the development taking place in terms of services to be rendered, many parameters, and even for research on the process of developing a new capital city.
“Also, at the end of the day, it is going to boost our internally generated revenue (IGR) profile, as those people are going to pay us approval fees. We have improved our approval-granting process.
In a related development, Galadima also visited the infamous scavengers’ colony that the FCT Minister stormed a week ago and directed that all the trees should be cleared so that the invaders would leave the place.
He revealed that the tree clearing has covered about two kilometres while sending the scavengers away from the site, adding that the FCTA is taking inventory of all the plots around the road corridor so as to get in touch with them and show a presence there.
“We are in high spirits because of the ministerial backing we have gotten. It is a very big push for us to achieve the objective,” he stressed.
A landowner around the road corridors in Mabushi, Kayode Olumudeji, who was seen at the site, said upon seeing the ongoing massive clearing exercise in the area, he and other plot allottees are happy with the development.
“We are happy with the strides this FCT Minister is trying to achieve because he has hit the ground running. Nobody believed that this place would look like this.
When I came, I didn’t even believe what I was seeing. I’m very happy, and I want to believe that everybody who has property here will be very happy.
So, keep it up, as we are happy with what you are doing. This is what we want to see in the FCT.
He, however, recalled that “prior to this time, we didn’t like coming here because when we come, we get disturbed and go home sad because of what we see at the site, as baba-bolas take over the area, and your heart will be broken.
But coming here now, I’m happy, and I know that when I come back in two weeks’ time, I will be happier.”
