LG seals bank, eateries over alleged land use contravention

The Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) has sealed some business premises in Wuse II district, Abuja, for allegedly operating in designated residential areas.

In particular, officials of the contravention Unit in the Development Control Department (DCD) of AMMC after inspection, sealed FCMB bank building, Gogzee Bakery and Crossover Restaurants, located in Cairo Street, as well as two other buildings, converted from residential along Kampala street, all within Wuse II, Abuja.

Speaking to the media during the exercise, DCD Director, Murktar Galadima, said the affected properties violated the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) land use act.

He said all earlier warnings by the Department were never taken seriously hence the sealing the premises.

Galadima noted that the exercise is aimed at recovering the Abuja master plan and, as much as possible compel those contravening original land use to stop doing so or face demolition if necessary conditions were not met.

According to him, “It’s a continuous process, and we follow due process unlike before where we just go and seal property. We write to communicate our intention that you have violated the land use act and should revert back to the original use failure of which, we take necessary actions by sealing the premises. “We are operating now at Wuse II District,  where we have pronounced cases of land-use conversion, but it’s not limited to that district alone, we are  going further  to Maitama, Garki and all the districts that have cases of land-use conversion.”

The Director said that the department going to send all findings to the Legal secretariat for appropriate sanctions.