Demolition Victims Demand Social Housing Scheme

Some Victims of the 2012 demolition exercise in the Federal Capital City, Abuja have appealed to the FCT Administration ( FCDA) to redeem its pledge on social housing scheme to reduce their suffering.

The victims who spoke to newsmen in Abuja explained that the FCTA is yet to fufil the promise it made to the National Assembly six months ago.

They claimed that the FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed, made the promise while addressing members of the National Assembly Committee on FCT over the demolition exercise.

One of the victims and a widow whose house was demolished at Kuchigoro, Mrs Kate Bulus, said that the social housing scheme pledged by the minister to the displaced persons was her only hope.

As she said “my five children and I are looking forward to the fulfillment of the promise made by the minister since the death of my husband two years ago, I have been the only one catering for my family.  We have no other place to go.  We are begging the minister to come to our aid and start the construction of the houses.

Another displaced person, Mr Ayuba Musa, a businessman whose shop and house were demolished in September 2012 at Kagini Village located on Kubwa Road, said that he was putting up with a friend at Dutse-Alhaji.

Musa said that the social housing scheme was the only solution to the problems of housing for poor Nigerians.  Mrs Latifat Ayeni, a civil servant who bought a two-bedroom bungalow at the Minamiel Estate on Airport Road, which was demolished in October 2012 called for the actualisation of the scheme.

She said “The housing scheme will help to reduce the hardship my family is currently facing, since I lost my two bedroom apartment last year, I have been thinking of where to get another place to stay”. It will be recalled that the FCT minister in November last year approved the allocation of 50 hectares of land to build the first phase of the Abuja Social Housing Scheme where he said that the victims of demolition and low income earners would be catered for.