Encroachment: FCTA orders developer to stop work in Gaduwa 

Favour Ishember, Abuja

Authorities of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Tuesday, ordered a developer of an ongoing estate in Gaduwa area  to stop work on the site over encroachment.

The Director, FCT Department of Development Control, Murktar Galadima, who led other senior officials of the department on the exercise, said the developer didn’t adhere to the  plan earlier approved for him, and extended the work to  the green area.

He said despite the ‘stop work ‘ order, after marking the illegal structures, the developer failed to comply with the several notices served on him.

Galadima disclosed that the administration would not allowed developers to flout the Abuja master plan in the name of development in the city.

 The director also ordered another developer on Oladipo Diya road, still within Gaduwa area to stop work over an unapproved development.

Galadima said: “There is a large encroachment of 33metres here, we gave them notice, we marked the structure and we served them all the relevant notices but they failed to comply with our notices, because expectedly when we serve you notice, you are to stop until all investigations are concluded.

“It is what we call +688 which is meant for recreational park but then, they encroached on some certain amount of spaces.But since they are contesting our decision, we have called surveyors to re-investigate the whole site because most likely there is shift on ground from the original space allocated so that we can confirm.People should not go beyond their boundary, and they should always build or develop with what is in line with what has been approved for them”

On his part, Project manager of the site,  Engr Chidi Godwin, alleged that there was an approval given to them by the officials of the FCTA.

He acknowledged that Private and FCTA  surveyors carried out the exercise separately.

“We are not going to contest the position of the FCT Administration after reviewing the survey”