Residents of Trademore Estate in the Lugbe area of Abuja have protested against the planned demolition of their buildings by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA).
FCDA had announced that it will demolish structures on waterways in the residential estate and other estates across the FCT.
In a statement signed by the FCDA executive director, Shehu Ahmed, the structures were disrupting the natural water flow, thereby causing floods in parts of the city.
The planned demolition is a result of the recent flood that reportedly claimed the lives of some residents and several houses, vehicles, shops, and other properties were damaged on Friday, June 23, in the estate.
The residents during the protest on Monday said said many of them are still paying mortgage on their houses, which was why they are kicking against plans by the FCT authorities to demolish the structures.
Speaking during the protest, chairman of the residents association, Adewale Adenaike, said the Trademore residents were the victims of the flood caused by a lot of water channels and tributaries diverted into the estate.
“As I said earlier during the press briefing, the protest is a result of flooding in Trademore. Trademore residents are simply victims of the extended flooding situation in Lugbe.
“A lot of channels and tributaries have been diverted into Trademore and that is to give way to other estates and what we expected was that the government agencies would do the needful by ensuring that all those waters are diverted away from Trademore,” he said.
Adenaike argued that the demolition planned by the FCTA was unnecessary as the estate is not sitting on a flood path.
“The demolition that they plan for Trademore is unnecessary because that’s not the reason. We are not sitting on the floodpath, we are sitting like any other property in Abuja.
“There is no reason for demolition and we are asking through this medium, telling government agencies to come to our aid, let us get together to find a lasting solution. We have experts on our side, they will come together with experts on the government side to come up with a lasting solution,” he added.
He further dismissed claims that the estate was not approved by the FCT authorities, “Trademore Estate was assigned by the former minister of the FCT, Nasir El Rufai and it was approved by AMAC at the time. Over 2,000 houses were built in this estate, on the airport road of the FCT. I do not understand how that could be illegal.
“We also have a section of the estate commissioned by the then vice president of Nigeria. I don’t understand how the Vice President would commit illegality.”
A resident who identified himself as Clement said he used all his life savings to purchase his house in the estate, “FCTA saying that they want to demolish Trademore is an illegality because Trademore is not the problem. The problem is a technical issue that can be handled.
“As a house owner, I used all my life savings to buy the house for my family and the government approved that land. We are appealing to President Bola Tinubu to come to our aid and find a lasting solution to the crisis. If the houses are demolished by the government, where do they want us to go with our families,” he said.
