Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has undertaken a significant demolition operation in Gwarinpa, targeting illegal buildings and shanties along Arterial Road N16.
Over 15,000 occupants have been affected by the clearance, supervised by Muktar Galadima, the Director of the Department of Development Control of the FCT.
Galadima emphasised that the demolished structures obstructed the designated road corridor, which stretches from the Federal Secretariat through Maitama, Katampe, Jahi, and finally to Gwarinpa.
The FCTA’s engineering department is poised to commence road construction immediately following the completion of the demolition, as the project has already been awarded.
He stated, “This location is a road corridor, it’s an arterial road that is called N16, but on the other side of the city, this is the road that is named the Shehu Shagari Way. So, it starts from the Federal Secretariat, through Maitama, Katampe, Jahi and then to Gwarinpa.
‘’As I said, these are structures that were illegally built on the road corridor. That is why we are coming to remove them because, engineering department will start the road construction right away. That is why we have to remove the obstacles that are preventing them from the road construction.”
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Galadima said some of the victims are being relocated to some other places but noted that, ‘”We have about 15,000 people who are staying here illegally.”
“As we are clearing now, engineering is already on standby. The contract has been awarded. They are on standby, they wrote to us that they want us to clear this corridor for them, so that the road construction can commence. So, they will not come back to this place again,” he stressed.
Peter Olumuji, the Secretary of the FCT Command and Control Centre, highlighted that the demolished shanties had gained notoriety for harboring criminals. He asserted that the demolition aims to enhance security for the residents of Gwarinpa and its surroundings.#fcta