- Written by Olawale Rasheed and Dapo Falade -Abuja
- Monday, 28 October 2013
THE Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has denied
the claim that the planned demolition of the A-Class Park and Events
Centre, located at Maitama District, Abuja, was borne out of political
vendetta.
This was as the management of the centre directed its workers to start removing its items from the three-hectare facility, following the expiration, on Saturday, of the 48-hour notice of demolition ultimatum served on it by the FCTA.
The owner of the events centre, Senator Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan, had told newsmen in Abuja, on Friday, that the planned demolition was being done to persecute her for belonging to the New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP), led by Alhaji Kawu Baraje.
The senator, who represents Taraba North senatorial district, said she had not contravened any urban and regional law, describing the planned demolition as an act of witch-hunt and deliberate persecution by the PDP, led by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, which she claimed had threatened to deal with members of the Baraje-led faction of the party.
However, the FCTA said it was not being used by the PDP to witch-hunt the opposition member, adding that the planned demolition was not done in isolation, as it affected some other events centres within the vicinity.
“This is being done in accordance with the urban and regional planning laws, as well as in tandem with the agreement signed with Senator Al-Hassan in 2011,” the FCTA said.
Its management had, in a notice, claimed that Senator Al-Hassan contravened the agreement contained in her letter of allocation, which stated that she was given permission to build the park and event centre, using temporary structures.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja, Mr Nosike Ugbuenyi, spokesperson to the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, said the agreement stated that she would evacuate at any time, when asked by the FCTA, with no compensation paid to her.
Ugbuenyi said there was no PDP crisis, adding that there was no sitting minister in the FCT as of the time of the agreement.
“She was just given a temporary permit, which forbade her from erecting a permanent structure on the land. The senator signed an undertaking to vacate the land anytime the authority needed it. The operator was given a temporary permit only in 2010, which forbids her from erecting permanent structures on the site,” he said.
He further pointed out that the master plan of the area was for a light rail line project which had commenced in some parts of the city, saying that her move then made some other people to also start operating fun centres in the area.
He further added that Senator Al-Hassan was not the only person served quit notice, but that notices were served on others operating in the area, adding that the implementation of the agreement and law was binding without any tone of political witch-hunting.
Meanwhile, when the Nigerian Tribune visited the place on Sunday, it was ready for the bulldozers, as some of the structures and facilities put in place were already being pulled off by some of the workers.
We are under siege- New PDP
The leadership of the New PDP has alerted Nigerians to what it called systematic persecution and harassment of its members nationwide, describing the development as a disservice to democracy.
In a statement by its publicity secretary, the group cited the withdrawal of police orderlies, planned demolition and revocation of properties owned by its chieftains, marking of its secretariat in Abuja by the FCTA, the deployment of anti-graft agencies after its members, among others, as a manifestation of the onslaught against the splinter group.
The group alleged further that the Bayelsa State police command has declared its state chairman, Richard Poekene Kpodo, wanted on criminal petition, adding that its state spokesman,Tonye Okio, was abducted in Abuja last Saturday.
It, however, appealed to President Jonathan to be a statesman and call those he described as “attack dogs” to order.
Olawale Rasheed and Dapo Falade -Abuja
This was as the management of the centre directed its workers to start removing its items from the three-hectare facility, following the expiration, on Saturday, of the 48-hour notice of demolition ultimatum served on it by the FCTA.
The owner of the events centre, Senator Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan, had told newsmen in Abuja, on Friday, that the planned demolition was being done to persecute her for belonging to the New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP), led by Alhaji Kawu Baraje.
The senator, who represents Taraba North senatorial district, said she had not contravened any urban and regional law, describing the planned demolition as an act of witch-hunt and deliberate persecution by the PDP, led by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, which she claimed had threatened to deal with members of the Baraje-led faction of the party.
However, the FCTA said it was not being used by the PDP to witch-hunt the opposition member, adding that the planned demolition was not done in isolation, as it affected some other events centres within the vicinity.
“This is being done in accordance with the urban and regional planning laws, as well as in tandem with the agreement signed with Senator Al-Hassan in 2011,” the FCTA said.
Its management had, in a notice, claimed that Senator Al-Hassan contravened the agreement contained in her letter of allocation, which stated that she was given permission to build the park and event centre, using temporary structures.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja, Mr Nosike Ugbuenyi, spokesperson to the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, said the agreement stated that she would evacuate at any time, when asked by the FCTA, with no compensation paid to her.
Ugbuenyi said there was no PDP crisis, adding that there was no sitting minister in the FCT as of the time of the agreement.
“She was just given a temporary permit, which forbade her from erecting a permanent structure on the land. The senator signed an undertaking to vacate the land anytime the authority needed it. The operator was given a temporary permit only in 2010, which forbids her from erecting permanent structures on the site,” he said.
He further pointed out that the master plan of the area was for a light rail line project which had commenced in some parts of the city, saying that her move then made some other people to also start operating fun centres in the area.
He further added that Senator Al-Hassan was not the only person served quit notice, but that notices were served on others operating in the area, adding that the implementation of the agreement and law was binding without any tone of political witch-hunting.
Meanwhile, when the Nigerian Tribune visited the place on Sunday, it was ready for the bulldozers, as some of the structures and facilities put in place were already being pulled off by some of the workers.
We are under siege- New PDP
The leadership of the New PDP has alerted Nigerians to what it called systematic persecution and harassment of its members nationwide, describing the development as a disservice to democracy.
In a statement by its publicity secretary, the group cited the withdrawal of police orderlies, planned demolition and revocation of properties owned by its chieftains, marking of its secretariat in Abuja by the FCTA, the deployment of anti-graft agencies after its members, among others, as a manifestation of the onslaught against the splinter group.
The group alleged further that the Bayelsa State police command has declared its state chairman, Richard Poekene Kpodo, wanted on criminal petition, adding that its state spokesman,Tonye Okio, was abducted in Abuja last Saturday.
It, however, appealed to President Jonathan to be a statesman and call those he described as “attack dogs” to order.
Olawale Rasheed and Dapo Falade -Abuja
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