The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has begun reviewing the Abuja Master Plan following recent flooding in Airport Road, Lugbe and Lokogoma, with authorities targeting developments that may have obstructed waterways and drainage channels.
The review follows an investigation ordered by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, who directed senior officials to assess the affected areas and determine whether the flooding was caused by heavy rainfall, blocked waterways or unauthorised developments.
Speaking during a media chat on Wednesday, Wike said the administration would take decisive measures to address violations of the Abuja Master Plan, particularly along the Airport Road axis, and would demolish any structure found to be obstructing designated waterways.
He said preliminary assessments had raised concerns over the long-standing development of structures without proper approval, particularly in Lugbe, where some buildings and other developments were allegedly erected on areas designated for roads and waterways.
According to him, “From our studies, Lugbe has always been violating the Abuja Master Plan… All over the years, you see people building without approval and blocking where there is supposed to be a roadway. As an administration, we are not taking it lightly.”
Wike said the administration’s position was not to allow developments that interfere with the original planning and drainage structure of the capital, stressing that structures found to have been built across waterways would face enforcement action.
Beyond the removal of illegal structures, the minister disclosed that the FCTA was also taking disciplinary measures against government officials accused of facilitating unauthorised developments in protected areas.
He revealed that a government director had recently been suspended under civil service rules for allegedly granting unauthorised temporary approvals to commercial operators on designated green areas, while another official was sanctioned for illegally reallocating parkland under the guise of security clearance.
On claims that some structures marked for demolition had obtained government approvals, Wike said such approvals would not necessarily protect developments that were inconsistent with the Abuja Master Plan.
He argued that approvals obtained through improper influence could not be used to legitimise developments on protected green areas or waterways, insisting that government policy prohibited such activities.
“You got approval to do something wrong… sometimes, it’s under influence. Government policy is that nobody should do anything on green areas. Now you go with the spirit that nothing will happen, and then when we come to enforce, you say you have approval. It is not going to be accepted,” the minister said.
Wike also disclosed that the FCTA had deployed a high-level task force led by the Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) and the Director of Development Control to investigate the flooding and conduct physical assessments of affected locations.
He said the officials inspected the Airport Road axis as well as communities in Lugbe and Lokogoma to establish the immediate and underlying causes of the flooding and determine the appropriate interventions.
According to the minister, the investigation is necessary because the administration must distinguish between flooding caused by natural factors, particularly extreme rainfall, and incidents worsened by human activities such as construction on waterways and obstruction of drainage routes.
“The one that is man-made, we can solve the problem; the one that is natural, there is nothing we can do it becomes a natural disaster. So, it’s something that we have to investigate,” he said.
While acknowledging that the recent rainfall in the nation’s capital had reached unprecedented levels, Wike maintained that preliminary findings indicated that some areas had suffered from years of violations of the FCT’s planning regulations.
He said structures had been erected across natural waterways and designated road corridors without valid approvals, potentially restricting the natural movement of stormwater and worsening the impact of heavy rainfall.
The minister’s position means that the ongoing flooding investigation could lead to wider enforcement of the Abuja Master Plan, particularly in areas identified as vulnerable because of unauthorised construction or encroachment on public spaces.
Speaking on infrastructure delivery, Wike assured residents that projects awarded by the current administration, as well as inherited projects, would be completed before the expiration of the administration’s tenure.
He said 107 road projects had been awarded in the FCT under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, with 76 already completed and another 10 expected to be completed ahead of the forthcoming elections.
Wike further disclosed that the FCTA had completed 23 of the 25 projects inherited from the Buhari administration and six of the eight projects inherited from the Jonathan administration.
He added that the administration had also intervened in some long-abandoned projects dating back to the Obasanjo era.
The minister described the volume of completed projects as unprecedented since the creation of the FCT’s current administration structure in 1999, saying the records of the projects had been made available to the public.