‎By Olawumi Oyehan

‎The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), through its Department of Development Control (DDC), has dismissed allegations by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) accusing its officials of unlawfully encroaching on the C2 Maitama Substation. The Department described the claims as false, malicious and an attempt to discredit its personnel while carrying out their statutory responsibilities.
‎A statement issued by the Acting Director of the Department, Bashir Madaki Sunusi, on Tuesday, in Abuja, said the Development control officials were responding to a complaint from a lawful land allottee with a valid Certificate of Occupancy, who alleged that access to his property had been obstructed. The Department said its team, accompanied by surveyors, visited the site to verify the land boundaries and establish beacons to determine whether any encroachment had occurred.
‎The Department maintained that no electricity infrastructure was tampered with during the exercise, insisting that power supply remained uninterrupted when its officials left the area. It also claimed that AEDC officials invited its team for a meeting after the inspection but failed to honour the appointment, despite the team waiting for several hours.
‎”The Department received a formal complaint from a lawful allottee holding a valid Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) duly signed by the Honorable Minister of the FCT. The landowner reported lack of access to his property due to illegal obstructions by AEDC officials.
‎”A team comprising the Maitama District Officers with surveyors visited the site to ascertain the boundaries. They discovered no permanent structure or fence, but a barbed wire fence used to barricade the area illegally.
‎”To determine if there was any actual encroachment or trespass on the AEDC substation, the Department deployed surveyors to establish the precise boundary beacons using standard equipment.
‎”During the exercise, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of AEDC, Engr. Blessing Ogwe, alongside Mrs Christine Emma -kalu an Assistant Director with a team of policemen, arrived at the scene. After civil introduction including our lead official who is in person of Mr Chinedu. Okoro.registered The AEDC leadership invited our team to a resolution meeting at their office which they honorably waited at the designated office from 2:00 PM until 5:00 PM, but the AEDC management completely failed to show up.
‎”Our Department wish to state authoritatively that its staff did not touch, alter or damage any electricity cables, structure or network infrastructure. The electricity supply was fully functional when our team departed the area. The subsequent power disruption was fabricated to ignite crises to curry sympathy from the public. There is a calculated attempt by AEDC to ridicule and blackmail our staff,” the statement read.
‎FCTA further accused AEDC of attempting to blackmail and intimidate its staff through what it described as a defamatory public announcement. The Department stressed that it would not be deterred from enforcing development control regulations and advised AEDC to present any land ownership claims through the appropriate legal and administrative channels.
‎The Department has demanded that AEDC withdraw the publication from all platforms and issue an unreserved public apology to the Department and the affected officials. It warned that failure to comply would leave it with no option but to seek legal redress for alleged defamation