By Abdullahi Muhammad Abuja—
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, has said his administration will do whatever is necessary to ensure that the National Defence College moves to its permanent site as quickly as possible. He disclosed that a number of national and multilateral agencies were waiting to take over their existing location.
He said this in Abuja last week when the management of the National Defence College paid him a courtesy visit in his offi ce. Th e minister, while welcoming eff orts by the National Defence College to move to its permanent site, revealed that the Administration was working towards addressing the infrastructural challenges around the area in Piwoyi, disclosing part of the plan was to open up that area through the relevant arterial roads that were in the Abuja Master Plan. “As you can see the legislative college is almost done. If you notice, you will see that the Korean Model School also is almost done. A lot of developments are going on around the area,” he said.
He also frowned at the rapid expansion of illegal settlements around the area, explaining that steps were being taken to discourage the negative trend. “Th e villages that you see springing up there are all illegal and if we all agree that they are illegal, then it’s better for us so that we treat them as such. Normally, it’s the construction and the activity in your permanent site and all the other major institutions that are coming up there that are attracting these people.
“If we all keep quiet and we don’t do anything, they will continue to grow. But they are really not supposed to be there and they are usually people that work in your site or work for some of the other construction sites there,” he added. Bello noted that the water problem being experienced at the Ushafa camp of the college was being addressed, adding that the technical team of the FCT Water Board had identifyied how it could re-pipe the water down from the tank in Bwari town to Ushafa He further advised government institutions and other private organizations seeking land for mass housing in the FCT to take advantage of the empty estates that littered across the city and negotiate with fi nance houses for suitable long term fi nancing agreement.
He stressed that it would be futile for these organizations to continue to apply and wait for land for mass housing in the already developed phases of the territory, where land allocations have fully exhausted. Th e minister reiterated that the template of everybody getting land and starting a cooperative housing estate would no longer be feasible in the FCT, explaining that interested parties should identify reasonably priced houses and go into agreement with a fi nancial institution to work out a long term fi nancing model that should be able to meet up with their requirements.
“Th e reality is that getting land where infrastructure is developed partially or about to be developed, is going to be increasingly diffi cult. Bello, however, disclosed that the FCT Administration was reviewing land allocations it made to government institutions and other developers in the territory for mass housing purposes, adding that it might be forced to revoke some of these plots and reallocate them to more serious contenders in the areas where no appreciable development have taken place. Speaking earlier, the Commandant of the National Defence College, Rear Admiral Adeniyi Osinowo, said the team was on a familiarisation visit to the minister, to specifi cally explain what they have been doing as well as raise issues for the attention of the minister.
“As our landlord, we have continued to enjoy your support and we are very grateful, particularly the relationship between the Administration and the college. Th e college has continued to grow in strength and in terms of the scope of our activities. “We have benefi tted from all the good things the Territory has off ered us, particularly the physical properties we have, the permanent site is somewhere in Piwoyi and we hope in the coming years, we will relocate there fully,” he said.
