FCTA Explains Why Kpokpogri’s House Was Demolished

The Federal Capital Territory Administration has explained the reason for the demolition of the property owned by Tonto Dikeh’s ex-boyfriend, Joseph Egbri, also known as Kpokpogri, on Saturday morning, May 14.

An aide to the FCT Minister told Punch in an interview that Kpokpogri’s house was razed because it was constructed on a major highway.

Attah Ikharo, the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection, and Entrustment, also spoke out, claiming that the building had not received approval from the appropriate agencies.

Mr Attah said, “His house is on a superhighway known as M-16. He doesn’t even have a building plan approval. It’s like somebody who knows that the highway is coming sold the land to him and he just went to build. We have been asking him to stop but he refused.”

The minister’s side also refuted Kpokpogri’s claim that no notice was given, stating that he was cautioned against building on the site but refused.

He said, “In Abuja before you build, you must get building plan approval. There was no approval at all for him. The place was initially allocated to somebody long ago. So I think the person now sold it to somebody who then sold it to him. When he discovered that it was a road, He didn’t stop but kept rushing the building. The whole building was built in less than a year.

“The Federal Housing Authority Managing Director came here twice this week. The MD came the day before yesterday (Thursday) that they didn’t give him approval and the building was illegally constructed.

“The FCDA Executive Secretary also came, adding that it was illegally constructed. We came here twice this week asking him to vacate because of the superhighway.”

He went on to say that Kpokpogri’s house was the only obstacle to the highway’s construction and that work on the area would begin in three months.