Alhaji Umar Shuaibu, the Coordinator of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), on Wednesday, in Abuja decried the persistent violation of building rules and regulations by many recalcitrant developers in the FCT.
Shuaibu, who made the remark at a conference, said that the actions of some developers escalated the simple procedures to become security, legal and social matters, with very dire consequences to the well-being of the city.
He said that the department of development control had in so small way contributed to ensuring compliance with the standard and regulations for building Abuja.
“It is worrisome to note that while the department has simplified the procedure and processes for granting building permits, there are many recalcitrant developers that always refused to abide by the set rules and regulations.
“The first and most important procedure in the process of building plan approval is the confirmation of title document and land ownership submitted by the developer.
“This usually becomes a major source of hindrance to the development of many plots in the city,” he said.
The coordinator, therefore, urged intending developers to be sure that there were no contending issues surrounding plot ownership before granting a development permit.
He expressed concern that out of desperation or treachery on the part of some developers, the staff of the council always faced undue harassment.
“Our staff, in the course of ensuring due process and fairness in handling ambiguous matters becomes victims of unwarranted harassment with framed-up charges against them by some dubious and recalcitrant developers.
“Other challenges are associated with legal bottleneck including court actions and order that hinders or delay the grant of the development permit.
“Some of the court orders are for maintenance of status quo.
“While in a conflicting situation, one developer would be allowed to continue to work on-site at the detriment of the other party, who might finally be declared as the rightful owner of a competing title.
“It is even more worrisome that as the department and the council are compelled to abide by court injunctions in order not to be charged for contempt of court.
“Erring developers usually violate such order and the department is left helpless in tackling such matters,” the coordinator said.
Shuaibu called on the security agencies to always dig and thoroughly investigate matters from the relevant FCT agencies before prosecution on any complaint on land matters.
Also, the Director of the Department of Development Control, Muktar Galadima, said the department would not hesitate to demolish illegal structures that violate the Abuja Master plan.