Abuja Master Plan Recovery Sacrosanct -FCTA
By: Wisdom Acka
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has said that restoration of the Abuja Master Plan is sacrosanct.
This is as the Administration disclosed it has identified specific areas it would focus on to help abate distortions of the master plan.
Several top FCTA functionaries took turns to reiterate this resolve as they spoke on the development and sanitation of
the nation’s capital, during commemoration of this year’s world earth day, themed, “invest in our planet”, on Thursday in Abuja.
Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Umar Shuaibu, who spoke first among the officials, called on FCT residents to stop all activities that lead to environmental degradation.
Decrying the unending abuses of the Abuja Master Plan by the residents, he listed some of them, including indiscriminate felling of trees, building on water channels and road corridors, among others.
On his part, Senior Special Assistant on Environment and Waste Management to FCT Minister, Tunde Imolehin stated that the second World Earth Day celebration in FCT was to guide residents on how to dispose off their waste properly in line with this year’s global theme: “Invest in our planet”.
He added: “To make our stay in this planet meaningful, we must invest wisely. We must take proper care of the environment, conserve and preserve the limited resources.
“The World Earth began in 1970 in the United States to highlight the importance of our planet and the conservation of its ecosystems on all continents and oceans. Since then, the world’s attention has been drawn to the challenges facing mankind and the environment and ways to manage them”
In his presentation, the Director FCT Department of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima revealed that over 10,000 illegal structures have been demolished in the last eight years with three hundred hectares of land recovered as the administration’s commitment to restore sanity in the Territory.
Galadima explained that the exercise became necessary to reverse the trend that have been affecting the officials from restoring the Master Plan and sanity across the city.
He called for the review of the development plan of the city, which according to him, a consultant should be engaged to drive the reforms.
Collaborating, Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Evaluation, Ikharo Attah, suggested that the Directorate of Road Traffic Services popularly known as VIO and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) should be carried along as critical stakeholders.
“There are many rickety vehicles, motorcycles emitting smoke that are destroying the ozone layer. Everyone of us must be involved in tree planting and must not be deterred to protect and secure the plants”
He, however, urged residents not to build on concrete jungles by destroying the green areas, “The planet is getting very hot , we must start to change the narrative so that our children will not pay for the destruction we are doing to the earth”.
