Shop Owners, FHA Officials Fight Dirty Over Land Grabbing In Abuja

What would have been total breakdown of law and order was averted Saturday at Lugbe, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory, when owners of Sector ‘F’ Corner shops refused attempted construction of new spaces by the entrance of existing shops.

The owners, who said they legitimately occupy their spaces, were surprised when the opening spaces meant to walk to their shops were said to have been allegedly allocated to some developers by the authorities of the Federal Housing Development Authority, FHA.

THE WHISTLER gathered that building of new shops on setbacks between existing buildings and the roads were allegedly approved by officials of the FHA.

“This is against the master lplan,” said a lawyer whose cousin’s shop is at the affected place.

He said, “FHA owns the estate, but these allocations which these developers are brandishing are in clear violation of the masterplan.”

It was however, learnt that before the swearing-in of the new Housing and Urban Development Minister, Alhaji Musa Dangiwa, officials of the Federal Housing Authority shrewdly allocated available spaces within the Lugbe area, including parking spaces, setbacks and places marked for public convenience to highest bidders and their cronies.

Emmanuel Amos Adebayo said he was recently allocated one of the setbacks for his private office.

According to him, “I was duly allocated the place where the shop owners are resisting my commencement of work. If FHA allocates a place, who else can counter it? I followed the due process, and my documents are intact.”

The scuffle that ensued was curtailed by men of the Nigeria Police who were alerted by some of the owners of the shops.

“This is the only entrance to our office,” a staff of Fingerprint Communications Limited which operates the DSTV franchise in Lugbe told our correspondent.

“The space is the only setback between our office, which was once occupied by Happy Note Microfinance Bank, and the access road,” he added.

Meanwhile, an operative of Lugbe Police Division, who came to find lasting peace at the place, one Inspector Samuel Olusola, took Mr Adebayo and his construction workers to the station.

The DPO, Mr. Ugochukwu, later advised against any violence and therefore ordered Mr Adebayo to stay action while all the parties seek further clarifications from the Federal Housing Authority.

Our correspondent was shown a copy of a building approval signed by one Ms Queen Phillips, a staff of the FHA field office in Lugbe.

At the office, it was revealed that Ms Phillips who purportedly signed the document has been redeployed to the FHA office at Gwarinpa.

It was however, not confirmed whether her deployment had to do with such allocations.

But the Head of the Town Planning Department at the Federal Housing Authority, Mr Eyong, denied knowledge of the allocation. He however said he “would see the parties to determine whether the allocation in question was authorized or not.”

Feelers emerged on Sunday that owners of shops at Cornershops intend to make an official petition to the the FCT minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike, and his Housing and Urban Development counterpart, Alhaji Musa Dangiwa, over the development.

They expressed fear that the entire premises might have been allocated to unsuspecting developers.

Uche, an attendant at one of the shops, said, “It will be the best option as law-abiding citizens. I have never imagined how allocations of setbacks and open spaces meant for public convenience within the Sector ‘F’ Corner shops would be allocated. It will be absurd. Justice and public interest must prevail. Wike is no nonsense person.”

Eucharia, who also works there, said, “Anything can happen in Nigeria. Many of the Cornershops in Lugbe have been turned into residential homes allegedly with the connivance of FHA field office at Lugbe. So, if the authorities say here is already residential, our case will close.”