From Jude Owuamanam, Jos
General Manager, Jos Metropolitan Development Board (JMDB), Hart Bankat, has given 48-hour notice to developers at a Government Reserved Area, Old Legislative quarters, Bauchi Ring Road, Jos North local council to remove the structures.
JMDB boss gave the order on Monday when he led a team of government officials, amongst whom were the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Musa Ashoms and his counterpart in Urban Development, Joshua Laven, to the site during an unscheduled visit.
The general manager expressed surprises that despite the order given to the developer to stop work, he had gone ahead to defy the directives
He said, “We have giving the owner of this building here, two days to remove his blocks, but if he fail to do so, it means he want to test the will of government.”
The GM reiterated that the building is illegal, asking , “Who should have sold public facility such as these, this is a football field, over there is a basketball quash, it’s a government property; this people are destroying.”
Bankat insisted that those responsible in the illegal act must be arrested and prosecuted accordingly.
On his part, Commissioner for information and Communication Hon Musa Ashoms, also in an interview with the media at the site, insisted that all illegal buildings that has no government approval would be demolished.
Ashoms said the present administration in Plateau State desires to ensuring quality of lives of citizens, hence the need to ensure that people build standard houses to avoid incessant cases of building collapse.
“We are trying to make our city great, green and beautiful, so we can’t allow anyone to deface our State.”
“We came in here when this place was a vagin land, within three days they have deface this place, this is lawlessness, we won’t tolerate.” Ashoms warned
The Commissioner expressed the Governor Caleb Mutfwang-led government’s desire to correct the wrongs of his predecessor.
Also speaking at the site earlier, Commissioner for Urban development Hon Joshua Laven while addressing Journalists explained that government through JMDB had ordered a stop of the said work at the weekend, but the person was adamant.
According to him, the order was given when excavation of the foundation began, but the owner of the building ignored the warnings and went ahead with the work.
“We want to ensure that the lost glory of Plateau State is restored, there must be sanity, this is government property they there are destroying, without anybody’s permission.”
The deputy supervisor of the project, identified as Umar Shehu, who was met on site was arrested after he claimed ignorance of the whereabouts of his supervisor.