Less than 20 days to his exit as Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai has approved the final phase of demolition of properties belonging to the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), the residential complex in Gbagyi and others.
In an official letter by the Director-General of Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KASUPDA), Ismail Umaru-Dikko, dated April 20, 2023, the agency demanded the urgent release of N29,253,500 for the exercise.
The memo by KASUPDA entitled ‘Request For Clearance To Carry out Pending Demolition Exercise’, listed the properties of IMN, UBE schools, Damau Household Farms owned by Dangote Diary Farm, Gbagyi Villa, Ali Scorpion House, Oriapata and Polo Club Stable at Ugwan Doka.
Others are at Architect Namadi Sambo Road, Danbushiya Layout and General Hospital, Kawo.
Meanwhile, among the reasons given by the authority for embarking on the demolition are the ban placed on the Islamic group, encroachment on schools’ landed properties, non-compliance on special regularisation programme, dilapidated structural failure, urban renewal and upgrade, encroachments and illegal subdivision.
Out of the N29,253,500 to be expended on the exercise, N20,253,500 will be used to demolish IMN properties.
Umaru-Dikko said: “The governor is invited to kindly consider the above and approve the release of the estimated funds to enable the authority execute these pending tasks.”