Minanuel Estate: What govt should do

Justice Danlami Senchi who presided over the case filed by the subscribers, challenging the demolition of the estate, said that the buildings and facilities put up in the estate were not approved by the FCT Administration.It would be recalled that the subscribers had filed a suit challenging the demolition of over 372 houses in September […]

Justice Danlami Senchi who presided over the case filed by the subscribers, challenging the demolition of the estate, said that the buildings and facilities put up in the estate were not approved by the FCT Administration.
It would be recalled that the subscribers had filed a suit challenging the demolition of over 372 houses in September 2012, totalling N3.6 billion by the FCDA under the leadership of the FCT Minister, Bala Muhammed.
The judge was unequivocal in his judgment and his pronouncements were crystal clear: the subscribers infringed on the law by building the estate without the necessary approval of relevant authorities.
The judge pointedly declared that the subscribers violated section 30(1) of the Nigeria Urban and Regional Planning Act, by failing to produce building permit indicating the engineering design, drawings, and environmental impact report.
Following the hue and cry that trailed the demolition of the estate, FCT stressed that the structures were pulled down to protect the sanctity of the Abuja master plan.
The minister said that out of a total of 296 houses demolished, Minanuel Estate accounted for 198, Isvin Estate (13); Jo-Afra, 54 and Grow-Insight (6), further stressing that “the FCT development control discovered these illegal developments at their embryo stage and were swiftly told to stop work on August 20, 2011 with an instruction for the estate developer (Minanuel Estate) to present the title document for the plot; approved building plan, as well as comprehensive development plan which the developer disregarded.
It is necessary that the truth be unveiled. This is necessary to prevent a recurrence. Though, the court has said that the subscribers have valid titles to the land, that does not justify the illegality of erecting structures without legal permit.
For those who have been holding tenaciously to the erroneous impression that the FCDA took a wrong decision in demolishing the estate, this court ruling should serve as a mechanism to defog their minds and also dispel such wrong notion from their hearts.  
There is no arguing the fact there is serious housing shortage in Abuja, with the cost of accommodation in the capital city almost the highest in the country, a development that informed FCDA’s allocation of 163 lands under the affordable housing scheme to private developers, staff housing associations and cooperative bodies that have met the laid down requirements within the designated pioneer layouts at Wasa in Kuje Area Council and Mamusa West in Phase IV of the Federal Capital City. The pilot scheme of the programme entailed the provision of a total of 1,000 affordable housing units in Karshi under Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
According to FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed, from 2010 to date, 136 companies and cooperative bodies have been allocated plots to embark on mass housing scheme in the FCT having complied with the requirements as spelt out the guidelines for mass housing development in the Territory.
The fact that the government is favourably disposed to having the private sector participate in providing houses to the people does not mean that when developers breach the laws of the land with impunity, the authority should turn a blind eye to it, because if such illegality is allowed to fester, we may one day wake up and find our beloved Abuja becoming a jungle. Tufiakwa!
Now that the court has affirmed that the FCDA acted rightly in demolishing the contentious estate, even with all the anger and recriminations it generated, it is necessary that government should fast-track its support for the private sector to bridge the housing deficit in the nation’s capital city.
Government should equally show enough commitment to making land more accessible and affordable for the ordinary citizens in Abuja, because this category of Nigerians also deserve roofs over their heads. Truth be told, the ruling of the court is simply a vote against impunity.
Ochela is a media consultant based in Abuja