The Director General of Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KASUPDA), Malam Ismail Umaru Dikko, has said that the structure which was removed within the premises of Kaduna State University (KASU) last Monday violated extant laws.

Dikko, in a statement issued on Thursday, recalled that the State Executive Council had earlier given a clear directive that all public buildings and institutions must submit relevant documents before erecting new structures within their premises.

He listed the documents to include the master plan of the institution or public building and an application seeking for permission that a new structure will be built.

According to the Director General, KASU partially complied with the SEC directive by submitting its master plan but without an application seeking for permission for further development.

“While awaiting for the university to fully comply with the SEC directive on erecting new buildings within the premises of institutions and public buildings, the Development Control team of KASUPDA noticed that excavation work was still going on at the site,” he said.

Dikko said that he personally went to the site on Friday, 3rd of June, 2022 ‘’but I was unable to see the site Engineer. I only met labourers.

“Out of courtesy to KASU, I went back on Sunday, the 5th of June 2022, and this time I met the Engineer. I told him that they are in contravention of the law and I asked them to stop further work on the project until they get a permit,” he disclosed.

The Director General said that on Monday, 6th of June 2022, the developers continued with the project and for that reason, “KASUPDA removed the excavation that have been started for foundation development which hasn’t been completed.”

According to him, “I didn’t know whether the proposed structure would have been a church or just a building. The developers contravened the law and KASUPDA merely performed its statutory duty by removing it.”

The Star