The people of Gowon Estate, under the aegis of Community Development Association, CDA, have appealed to Federal Housing Authority, FHA, to urgently grant permission for the development of the only available land space at the estate for recreation centre.

The appeal is coming following the disagreement over what the residents called moves by individuals within and outside the estate to acquire the expanse of land for personal reasons as against the interest of the entire community.

The non-release of the piece of land by the FHA, they said, has discouraged many foreign firms willing to help convert it to a recreation centre for the relaxation of the over 30,000 residents leaving in the estate.

One of such foreign companies is Play!Ya, an independent organisation based in Berlin, Germany, which has offices in Lagos.

According to information gathered from the residents, the expanse of land otherwise known as Kuwait, situated on 4th Avenue of Gowon Estate, which used to be the den of criminals for several years, was turned around by the combination of the police and residents of the area.

A statement by the CDA Chairman, Nathaniel Okoro, said: “This expanse of land, which has a football field, basketball court, some ramshackle churches and mechanic workshops used to be the den of hard drug peddlers and their patrons.

“In addition to the drug businesses that thrived on the site, many a number of armed robbery suspects and kidnappers have been known to use this site as their haven.

“At various times, the NDLEA has carried out numerous raids in this area, sometimes continuously for stretches of up to two weeks, but the problem persisted. The Gowon Estate Police Division also tried their luck, all to no avail.”

People of the community have lamented that all efforts made to make the FHA release the land officially has failed.

A statement by the Germany-based company said: ”The overall aim is to maintain the Gowon Estate field as a modern sports park/recreational centre for residents within and around the estate and offer focused programmes to tackle the existing social problems.