Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Muhammad Bello, has stripped the Federal Housing Authority, FHA, of the powers to approve building construction in the FCT.

He directed the Development Control Department of the FCT Administration to take full responsibility for building plan approvals, construction and supervision in the territory, in accordance with extant regulations.

The minister said the directive was in keeping with Section 7, Sub-section 1-3 of the FCT Act of 1976 and Part II, Section 27-41 of the Nigeria Urban & Regional Planning Law of 1992 amended in 1999, that “no person or body is authorized to carry out any development within the FCT without the written approval of the FCT Department of Development Control.”

He also directed the department to ensure that the FHA and other stakeholders in mass housing development sub-sector in the FCT adhered strictly to all regulations on property development in the territory.

He further stated that the FCT Administration will no longer tolerate the construction of buildings on flood plains and will take necessary measures to correct the anomalies.

Bello gave this directive in reaction to last Sunday’s  building collapse in Gwarimpa estate of the city, which claimed two lives.

The collapsed building was said to have been constructed on a flood plain and approval had been obtained from the FHA.

Bello sympathised with families of the deceased, adding that lives often lost to incidences of building collapse could be avoided if simple urban and regional regulations were adhered to.