Again, FCT pulls down 134 houses in Apo Akpmajenya indigenous community

• ‘131 Houses, 169 Plots Have Been Allotted To Affected Persons’

Barely one week after demolition of 25 houses at Byami area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), yesterday, went ahead to pull down over 134 houses at Apo Akpmajenya Indigenous Community, to pave way for construction of a major road network in the area.

The FCT Director, Department of Development Control, Malam Muktar Galadima, said the community was marked for demolition since January 2020.

Galadima also said the FCT, through its relevant agencies, had interfaced with inhabitants on the need for them to vacate the area, which “falls under the corridor of the planned outer Southern Express Way (OSEX).”

He said the community was located on one of road interchanges, linking Oladipo Diya, which is an arterial road with the outer Southern Express Way.

The Deputy Director, Planning and Resettlement, Department of Resettlement and Compensation, Malam Nasir Suleiman, said 131 houses and 169 plots had already been allotted, as compensation to affected community members.

Suleiman said FCT administration had provided a plot for the people’s comprehensive development, adding that many of them had already moved to Apo Resettlement Scheme, while a few were yet to move.

He said the Federal Capital City’s policy (FCC) was to resettle all indigenous settlements within the FCC to the Federal Capital Territory, which is outside the FCC.

The Director, Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) Malam Baba Lawan, said the village constituted environmental nuisances and generated monumental waste.

Lawan said trucks of waste generated from the village were carted away from the community to the central dump side daily, adding that the village is made up of 80 per cent commercial activities and not a traditional Gbagi village.

“The village is occupied by mainly traders and they generate a lot of waste, which are deposited even along the road,” he said.

Also, the Director, FCT Department of Security Services, Malam Adamu Gwary, said the village served as a criminal hideout, where properties stolen are hidden.