The FCT Administration (FCTA) on Monday in Abuja demolished Spotlight Garden Events and Recreation in Wuye District, for alleged violation of closing beyond 7pm. for parks and gardens.
The Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) Coordinator, Mr. Umar Shuaibu, who led the team, told reporters that there was no turning back on the 7 p.m. application. Closing time for parks and gardens in Abuja.
Shuaibu said the assignee and operator of the floodlight garden would be prosecuted for the violation of regulations, which resulted in the death of an innocent citizen.
“Just last week, at a park known as Spotlight Garden Events and Recreation in Wuye District, the operator flagrantly violated our closing time regulations by operating beyond 19 hours.
“It attracted the activities of armed thugs, who shot a valiant security guard in cold blood. It could have been avoided if they had complied with our regulations,” he said.
Shuaibu said the park operator had been arrested, adding that the park allotment was revoked and the site would be immediately reclaimed by the FCTA.
He said this would serve as a warning to all park beneficiaries and operators who arrogantly violate established rules and regulations.
Shuaibu explained that the 7 p.m. app. the closing time of Parks and Gardens in Abuja has been necessitated by security concerns and public disturbances resulting from parks activities during the night.
He denounced the situation in which most of the parks of the FCT did not operate in accordance with the parks policy, on which they had agreed.
The coordinator said that 82% of the total land allocated to each park must be devoted to greening.
He said only 18% of the land was for pavement, saying “unfortunately most park operators alter it for an entirely different purpose.”
Shuaibu said the FCTA has hired many park operators and violators of other land use regulations in the federal capital.
“Particularly, in Lungi Crescent, Wuse II District, enforcement notices have been served on affected beneficiaries.
“However, some are reluctant. This will never be acceptable by the administration. Appropriate stern action, including revocation, will be applied to these allocations.
“Park owners should remember that at the time of the request for gardens they received a copy of the Official Journal of Parks and Gardens Operations, which they accepted but decided not to comply with.
“This is not accepted, the administration of the FCT vehemently condemns the gross violation and stands ready to prosecute the violators,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the FCT administration recently banned the operation of parks and gardens beyond 7 p.m. as listed in the park regulations of 2005. (NAN)