An architectural and building construction firm, All Purpose Shelters Ltd (APSL), has urged the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike to upgrade informal settlements across the territory.
Dr Yemisi Suswam, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, stated this at the maiden edition of the 2024 Abuja Business and Investment Summit, in Abuja on Wednesday.
The summit themed: “Optimising Investments through Partnership,” was being organised by the Abuja Investment Company Ltd (AICL).
Suswam, an architect, pointed out that the informal settlements were growing in numbers by the day with corresponding expanded population across the territory.
She attributed the increasing number of the informal settlements to the influx of mass population movement from the states to the capital city in search of greener pasture.
She said that informal settlements have become part of the complexities of urban cities as urban housing schemes were not accessible to the majority of city duellers.
“There is the need, therefore, to look into upgrading such settlements to align with the development expectations of the nation’s capital.
“This will be a paradigm shift from the practice of allowing the settlements to grow in numbers and in population before bulldozers will come and pull the settlements down,” she said.
She expressed the readiness of development partners to tap from AICL open doors.
Responding, Wike pointed out that no city would grow without planning, addinv that, “we can’t build houses without a development plan. Nobody does that.
“The mere fact that you migrated from the rural area down to the city, does not mean that we will jettison the rules and regulations governing city development.
“So, for those living in shanties or informal settlements, when you see bulldozers coming, it is simply to comply with the rules and regulations,” he said.
He said the measure was necessary because criminals take advantage of the situation to perpetuate their evil acts.
“When they do that, what you will be hearing is, it is for our survival, but nobody can survive without obeying the law,” Wike said. (NAN)
