Why Render Over 700 Homeowners Homeless After Building Approval – Ozekhome Writes FCTA

The Mike Ozekhome chambers, solicitors to homeowners at TradeMore Estate in Lugbe, Abuja, has faulted the claim by the Federal Capital Development Administration, FCDA, that development plan was not approved for the estate.

The claim was allegedly made by FCDA’s director of development control, Mr. Mukhtar Galadima, prompting the chambers to write to the Administration on behalf of Trademore International Holdings Ltd.

Ozekhome, in several letters to the Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital Territory Administration, sought intervention over the comments made by Galadima regarding the cause of flooding in the said estate.

Galadima had in a television interview on July 4 said Trademore Estate was developed “without seeking and obtaining the requisite Development Plan Approval.”

THE WHISTLER reports that the FCDA had declared the estate a “disaster zone” following the flooding that occurred in the area after a heavy rainfall.

Residents had on Monday protested the Administration’s planned demolition of the estate which according to them now hosts about 2,000 housing units.

From the letters made available to THE WHISTLER, the Department of Development Control of the FCDA visited the estate on Monday, 27th June, 2023, and marked over 60 houses for another round of demolition.

Ozekhome maintained that demolition was not the solution to the flooding challenges in Lugbe especially when TradeMore obtained proper allocation and authorisation to develop the area by relevant authorities.

“It is necessary to stress here that our client, being an experienced indigenous real estate developer in Nigeria with well over two decades of cognate experience in real estate development, could not have entered a site and started development without proper allocation and authorization.

“Our client was properly allocated the land containing the Trademore Estate.

“It duly sought for and obtained Development Plan Approval for the development of the Trademore Estate, building over 700 units of houses, an achievement that was facilitated by huge bank loans,” he wrote.

Ozekhome continued that TradeMore had a Development Plan Approval as at 2004 and the Office of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) had confirmed it in a letter dated 23rd of March, 2010.

“We humbly refer you to a letter written to our client wherein the Co-ordinator of the AMMC stated the obvious as follows:

“The Council has critically looked at your case and observed as follows:Your Company is a beneficiary of lands allocations made in Lugbe by the Abuja Municipal Area Council;Your Company was granted a building Plan Approval in 2004 by the same AMAC;The company has gone ahead to develop a total units of about 700 houses on the plot based on the granted approval;The layout within which your land is located is yet to be approved by the Urban and Regional Planning department of the FCDA.”

Ozekhome explained that the disagreement concerning the layout by the Urban and Regional Planning Department of the FCDA, whose approval cuts across the entire Lugbe axis, is a “matter of internal arrangement which the FCDA and AMMC were to sort out amongst themselves.”

He further cited where the AMMC stated that “The Council has already initiated some inter-departmental consultations on the issue with a view to resolving the problem of layout for Lugbe area…”.

Ozekhome urged the FCTA leadership to intervene and halt the planned demolition.

“Yet another 60 units of house now marked for demolition is certainly not the solution to the flooding challenge at TradeMore Estate.

“This needless act of wanton demolition of houses if carried out will yet again render several families homeless if the Department of Development Control is not urgently called to order and halted on its tracks from proceeding with said needles demolition.

“It is our client’s firm belief that the continuous demolition of houses is not the solution to the flooding of Trademore estate and its environs, whether temporary or permanent.

“We believe that our client has not any way contravened any known laws to be met with such governmental show of power. Please, accept the assurances of our esteemed regards.Yours Faithfully,” he added.