HDAN Slams Govt Over Demolition Of Building Projects

The Executive Director of the Housing Development Advocacy Network (HDAN), Barrister Festus Adebayo, on Friday raised concern over the recent wave of demolitions of completed houses and estates across Nigeria, with stakeholders in the housing sector

Adebayo warned that the government must address the root causes of the problem rather than wasting scarce resources through large-scale demolitions.

In a statement he sent to THE WHISTLER in Abuja, the HDAN boss lamented that the government’s negligence and complicity are at the heart of the crisis.

He questioned why authorities allowed such buildings to rise over many years without intervention, only to demolish them after completion.

“Where was the government when approvals were granted by its staff and when these structures were being constructed? Why weren’t they stopped earlier? Instead, the government waited until buildings were completed, painted, and occupied before moving in with bulldozers. This is ridiculous,” Adebayo stated.

He described the demolitions as economic waste, stressing that they inflict hardship on innocent homeowners while failing to address the corruption that enabled the illegal constructions in the first place.

According to him, accountability must not stop at developers alone.

“Demolition is the punishment for the developer but hear me clearly: the criminal officers who aided the construction must also go down. Until government officers who looked the other way are held publicly accountable whether by outright dismissal or demotion, these demolitions will never end. Right now, the punishment falls only on developers, which makes the exercise one-sided and ineffective.”

He maintained that holding complicit officials responsible would act as a deterrent to others and reduce future occurrences.

Adebayo also criticised the silence of professional bodies, particularly the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), noting that if urban planning systems are being undermined, the Institute has a responsibility to speak up.

He reiterated that corruption within government approval systems fuels most of the illegal structures that are later targeted for demolition, insisting that unless this is addressed, the cycle will continue.