Sloppy contract ravages 5000 houses in FCT
The place is called Shere/Galuwyi Resettlement Site in Bwari Area Council of the FCT. The scheme started in 2006 was for resettlement of the original inhabitants in communities like Utako village, Kpana, Jahi, Jabi I and II, Mabushi, Gishiri, Gwarinpa, Kado etc.Government spent huge money to construct the numerous two-bedroom flats. Many have been completed. […]
The place is called Shere/Galuwyi Resettlement Site in Bwari Area Council of the FCT. The scheme started in 2006 was for resettlement of the original inhabitants in communities like Utako village, Kpana, Jahi, Jabi I and II, Mabushi, Gishiri, Gwarinpa, Kado etc.
Government spent huge money to construct the numerous two-bedroom flats. Many have been completed. But the site is like a ghost town. Our reporters who visited the place penultimate Thursday reported that some of the houses’ roofs have been ravaged by storm. Some window and door frames and panels and louvers have been plundered. Termites have eaten some of the wood. Compounds have been overgrown with weeds, some cultivated by locals from the neighbouring village to plant crops. The question anyone who passes by asks is, “Why on earth will this place be left like this for so many years?”
There are no functional infrastructure. The roads there are not paved and the water scheme has never been put to use. There was no clear mark of the contractors that built the houses. It was gathered that the FCT Administration engaged numerous local contractors to build the houses. These contractors cannot be easily traced because they have no identifiable marks on the site.
Why the site was abandoned
Our reporters however came across a signboard showing that a firm called Parsons Science Engineering Company Ltd is to do the roads, water and electricity. No official of the company was seen on site. When our reporter visited the company’s office on Floor 8, Labour House, Abuja last week, no one was there either.
The Director Department of Resettlement and Compensation, Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Mr Francis Okechukwu said lack of infrastructure prevented the completion of the project. He said, “These are issues that will be addressed in this year’s budget because we’ve made adequate provisions…in respect to the completion of the houses and the resettlement of the affected persons.”
He declined to give details referring us to the Director of Public Buildings Mr Bernard Lot. Lot could not be reached.
But a reliable source in FCT Administration said the project was stalled due to disagreement between local contractors and government over who would do soakaways for the flats. Government awarded that part of the job to new set of contractors so those who built the houses kicked against it saying they should be ones to do the soakaways. The matter ended in court resulting in order of stay of action from both parties.
It was said that from the original design, government intended doing cesspools for clusters of the houses. But upon building of the houses, engineers realised that will not be effective. It was therefore necessary to include soakaways for the individual flats. While government wanted to engage new contractors for the soakaways, those who built the houses insisted they will build the soakaways.
Local people’s concerns
The people of Shere where the relocation site is located have diverse concerns. One of them who pleaded anonymity said, “We saw people from the FCDA sometime in 2005 who said they came to discuss with us about the government intention to site a 5,000 housing unit for the relocation of original inhabitants from the city center. They gave some of the land owners N5000, some between N30,000 and N50,000 with the highest getting N100,000. Afterwards, the bulldozers came and work started.”
The Jagaba (meaning the frontier) of Shere, Mr Bala Ahmed Sherekworo said, “We were told our ancestral land will now accommodate about 10 communities from the city center. Now, our four communities whose means of livelihood is taken. We’re not part of the supposed beneficiaries of this project when and if it is eventually completed.
“You can see and imagine how much government must have sunk in this project. A good number of the houses were completed and handed over to the FCDA but upon abandonment, they have been vandalized. Some have simply rotted away for lack of care. This should be a huge embarrassment.
Some locals expressed security concerns pointing presence of unknown persons in the houses. Our reporters observed that some of the houses are occupied by people who claimed to be staff of either the contractors who built the houses or of the construction company handling the internal road network.
A man who gave his name as Lawal was found in one of the flats. He told us that he is a construction worker and has lived in the site for two years. He acknowledged that security men guard the property. However, for the whole of our three hours there, no security personnel was sighted in the vast property. Entrance and exit appears free and unhindered.
The project cuts across four districts under Bwari Area Council namely: Galuwyi, Sherepe, Sheregbagi and Shere kworo. The site is accessible through two major roads, the Bwari-Kawu and the Shere Junction-Mpape roads. These major roads if asphalted will greatly open access to many villages. Many construction and quarry companies that daily blast rocks there are anxious to have the roads built but it appears government that would given the lead way is not interested. The trouble of driving on these roads in both dry and rainy seasons will definitely not excite the supposed beneficiaries of the new houses even if they are completed and given to them today.