Flooding: FCTA Task Force Removes Over 400 Illegal Houses In Gwarinpa

The Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, on Thursday, commenced the removal of over 400 illegal houses in Gwarinpa, Abuja.

The over 400 illegal structures were illegally converted from corner shops to residential buildings and others were covering the waterways, were removed by the team of Development Control and FCT Task Force.

Director, Development Control Department, Murkhtar Galadima, who spoke to journalists at the venue, lamented the poor hygiene and sanitation, in the area said wastes are being released directly into the stream and this is a time bomb waiting to explode.

According to him, “These places you are seeing are not supposed to be houses, they were actually corner shops but people have converted them to residential abode. We have over 400 shops that were converted to residential buildings.

“We are working with Federal Housing Authority, we had some discussions with them on how to convert it into a modern mall but for now the thing that is called corner shops is not being used for that particular purpose, it is used as residential buildings. And when you look at the number of people staying here, the hygiene and sanitation are zero so for safety reasons it is better to remove them,” he stated.

The Director speaking on notice of demolition, said they were given one month notice, “We gave them over a month notice, I remember we came here for sensitisation and we marked it. When you go round you see the markings on the wall.”

He decried the fact that people built on waterways, “What we are trying to do is to recover the flood plain within Gwarinpa, People built on waterway. The area is not properly planned because they are just discharging their waste directly to the stream. And this could be a source of the epidemic, so it is a time bomb waiting to happen. If we don’t take action immediately the consequences are unimaginable.