Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has said that he will not discriminate in allocating plots earmarked for religious worship centres in the Abuja Master Plan.
The Minister, who spoke when a delegation of the Catholic Community in Abuja, led by the Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan that paid him a visit in his office, said that the Abuja Master Plan makes provision for the need of every sector in the society.
He reiterated that his Administration would make sure the ones that belong to worship centres are equitably allocated amongst all religious faiths in tune with the Change Agenda of the Federal Government.
“Despite the huge demands for land in the FCT, the Administration will try as much as possible to ensure that plots meant for religious organizations are left for that purpose so that everybody is given a sense of belonging in the Territory.
“The Planners of Abuja have made plots available for religious bodies in all of the districts in the Federal Capital City and the current FCT Administration intends to implement its land allocation policy based on this plan.
“I think this is standard practice. For every district, there are religious plots that cater for all the faiths. Ordinarily, fairness should be adopted in this kind of issues. You may find some people complaining over the years, if there has not been fairness.”
Muhammad Bello said that there is a deliberate policy by the current FCT Administration not to allocate new plots of land either now or in the near future until such areas or districts are clearly provided with the best compliments of infrastructure.
The Minister said that this policy is not aimed at stifling development, but to ensure that development go the way it should be, by providing for the best possible infrastructure before allocations are made, so that issues like land speculation or double allocation are discouraged.
He said that lands that are in compensation for wrongs done or maybe as part of amicable resolutions to disputes would be exempted from this arrangement; adding that the FCT Administration will give priority to these exceptions.
Muhammad Bello called on religious bodies and other residents of the FCT to embrace out-of-court settlement of land related disputes to reduce the time expended in seeking resolutions at the courts, which he said retards development of the FCT.
Speaking earlier, the leader of delegation, John Cardinal Onaiyekan thanked the Minister for encouraging the inter-religious seminar that afforded religious leaders in the Federal Capital Territory to rub minds. [myad]
