Rumbles As el-Rufai Nullifies Ownership of 600 Shops
Urban Planning
From Julcit Onigbogi in Abuja
While the disaffection generated by some of his actions on demolition and re-issuance of Certificates of Occupancy is yet to abate, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai has taken another step that may put him at logger heads with no fewer than 626 people whose money was used to build the ultra-modern fire proof Gudu Market in the Apo area of Abuja.
In his latest move to reorder virtually everything in the FCT, the minister has ordered the transfer of the market, which construction is nearing completion, from the Gudu Market Implementation Committee to the Abuja Investment and Property Development Company Limited (AIPDC).
A major issue in contention in the take-over bid is that whereas the market construction was fully financed by the allottees based on publicly advertised prices, the Abuja Investment and Property Development Company Limited has just been empowered by the minister to "prepare the Gudu Market for sale to investors/developers by open bid based on the current FCT Markets Build Operate and Transfer development scheme".
The minister has also approved that AIPDC reconfigures the market by the demolition of some shops to provide adequate car parking spaces and decongest the environment. He has also approved that the sale prices of the shops be revised to incorporate an alleged funding shortfall of about N120 million.
The physical construction of the market was conceived in April 1988 with an implementation committee constituted to execute the project. Besides the 626 various types of shops, there is provision for one telecommunications centre, a cyber cafe, two public toilets, three banks, one police post, one clinic, car parks and a market administrative block. Infrastructure like roads with asphalt overlay, concrete drainages, parking spaces and walkways have been provided, while the ministry was to provide electricity, water, sewage lines and concrete walkways as its contribution to the project. Construction of basic infrastructure was done by Dantata and Sawoe at a cost of N59,012,971.60. It was funded from the money realised from the allotment fees.
To ensure due process in the allocation of the shops, advertisements were placed in national dailies for application forms for the various types of shops. While applicants for specialised shops, warehouse, restaurants and cold room paid N5,000, those for retail shops paid N2,000. Banks paid N20,000, while meat shops, fish shops and open stalls went for N1,000. A total of N61.040m was raked in from the sale of forms. Allotment of space for a warehouse, which measures about 15 ft by 18 ft in the market attracted N166,000, while construction fee of the shop went for about N694,000 to bring the cost paid per warehouse to about N860,000.
Construction of the shops was ratified by the Federal Executive Council in November, 2003. It was awarded to Messrs Aso Solid Investment Limited, a subsidiary of Aso Savings and Loans Ltd. at a cost of N420.33m. The cost of space allocation and construction with red brick is to be fully paid by the allottees.
As of date, allottees have paid N299 million for the shops while N253m has been paid to the contractors leaving an outstanding balance of N160m. There is a balance of N40 million in the Aso Savings and Loans account of the market where allottees made their payment.
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