Kwara govt denies authorising construction of mosque beside church

The Kwara State Physical Planning Authority (KPPA) has dissociated itself from granting approval for the construction of a Central Mosque beside the Catholic Diocese around the Tanke Junction in Ilorin.
KPPA General Manager, Sikiru Oyinloye, who disclosed this on Saturday at a news conference in Ilorin, denied the involvement of the agency in the construction of the Ummul Khairah Memorial Central Mosque in the area.
He said that the owners of the mosque and church had a mutual agreement that both worship centres should operate side-by-side.
The general manager explained that the initial approval that was granted to the owner of the mosque was for a business mall before it was converted to a mosque.
According to him, there are guidelines that are followed before an approval can be granted for the construction of a worship centre.
He stated that both parties later came to KPPA office “to inform us that a Memorandum of Understanding has been reached that the two worship centres should be allowed to coexist side-by-side without hindrance from either side.”
Meanwhile, the Mr Oyinloye has announced that KPPA has commenced the massive demolition of illegal structures in the state.
He said that shops in two different locations on Fate Road and Lower Sabo Line, both in the Ilorin metropolis, have been demolished because they were awarded Certificate of Temporary Occupancy (CTO).
According to Mr Oyinloye, the CTO “implies that such buildings or shops can be demolished anytime by the authority after serving the occupier a seven-day notice to vacate.
“As at the time they were presented with the CTO document by the Kwara State Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, they were also given a prototype of what to construct.
“It is mandatory for all landowners to approach the KPPA for advice before erecting any structure on their land.”
He said the affected shops have earlier been marked for demolition, saying that they were built on places which the government reserved for electricity poles, road setbacks, walkways and other public uses.
Mr Oyinloye, who also solicited support from the media towards educating the people on the dangers associated with illegal structures, warned that demolition of illegal structures was a continuous exercise.
(NAN)
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette

Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Heading 2
Tearful Lionel Scaloni pledges to honour Argentina contract after World Cup heartbreakÂ
Scaloni has been the manager of the Argentina football team since 2018, and his current contract is set to expire in December.

States
Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger intensify preparedness amid flood warnings
The measures include the construction of drainage infrastructure, activation of emergency operations centres, and public sensitisation campaigns.

Economy
NERC issues guidelines for technical audit of transmission network
According to NERC, the guidelines establish a uniform and standardised process for periodic technical audits of Nigeria’s electricity transmission system.

Abuja
FCT police detain four officers over alleged extortion of N53,000 from ICPC chairman
The FCT police command has detained four officers for allegedly extorting the chairman of ICPC.

States
Four killed in Sokoto rainstorm
According to NEMA, many homes and critical public infrastructure, including one primary school and one hospital, were damaged.

Economy
Stakeholders push policy retention as CBN’s monetary policy committee meets
In its 305th meeting in May, the MPC retained the monetary policy rate at 26.5 per cent.





