The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) has disowned Mr. Joseph Kpokpogiri, an ex-lover of Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh, after the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) demolished his mansion valued at N700m, located in a highbrow area of Guzape district in Abuja on Saturday morning.
Officials of FHA, alongside its Managing Director, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, who had visited the site of the demolished building three days ago in the company of some top Management team of FCTA, explained that the plot of land originally belonged to FHA, but that proper building plan was not approved before the mansion was built.
The FHA further explained that notices to stop work were served at different stages and times of the work, but Kpokpogiri refused to comply.
The Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Engr. Shehu Hadi, who was also on the team that visited the site, said that the road alignment had been done long ago and FHA was duly notified.
Hadi noted that the road alignment which the demolished building obstructed was designed to serve as an important bypass to the Abuja-Keffi road.
He added that any plan to realign the road because of the building would be difficult and not a fair judgment to those that it would affect, considering that the demolished building was not in existence earlier when the plan started.
Also speaking, the Director, Department of Development Control, Muktar Galadima, said the multi-million Naira mansion, located in the highbrow area of Guzape in Abuja, was unapproved, and cannot be allowed to override public interest.
Galadima noted that the mansion sitting on a rock in the fast-developing district, was an obstruction to a major road network, connecting the popular Apo bridge to many parts of the city and that the FHA was duly allocated the area in the district to carry out its Mass Housing programme.
He, however, clarified that when the road network of the district was officially realigned, FHA was promptly notified that some plots of land within its area have been affected.
Galadima added that FHA was ordered not to allow any further development on the affected plots, as replacement plots will be given to them, denying a lack of inter-agency collaboration between FCTA and FHA, and that all necessary communications were properly documented.
“There is adequate inter-agency cooperation, the Federal Housing Authority ( FHA) approached the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) for allocation, and they were given approval and were asked to make sure that whatever they do aligns with the approval
“The plot in question was part of what was in the allocation, but because of the importance of the road, we wrote to FHA, notifying it that a number of your plots have been affected by the realignment of the road and that we are going to give it replacement plots.
“We told them that no development should be allowed on the plots, and this was around 2019, we came for a site visit and have given them notice. We even marked the building for demolition, but the owner cleaned it off,” Galadima said.
Kpokpogiri, has however, claimed that the decision to pull down his mansion worth over N700m was an act of oppression, alleging that his house was demolished because he refused to sell it to some powerful, but unnamed individuals who had begged him to sell the property to them.
