The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has reaffirmed his stance on demolishing illegally constructed properties in Abuja, despite mounting opposition and calls for a halt to the exercise.
Wike’s demolition campaign has sparked controversy, with Paullosa Nigeria Limited among the latest to voice concerns.
The construction company claimed it had received a demolition notice from the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) for its estate in the Lifecamp area of Abuja.
According to the estate’s General Manager, Mr Vincent Enoghase, the FCDA demanded ₦10 million for a Right of Occupancy, which the company paid but had yet to receive before being served the quit notice.
Social media commentator Vincent Martins Otse, known as VeryDarkMan, further alleged that Wike revoked the estate’s land titles and reallocated them to Saravera Nigeria Limited and Kingsley Chinda, the Minority Leader in the House of Representatives.
Otse called for security agencies to investigate, highlighting that the land’s original owner, a retired military officer, passed away four years ago.
In response to public concerns, the Senate has initiated a probe into the issue and urged Wike to suspend further demolitions until the investigation is concluded.
However, Wike remains steadfast. Speaking during the distribution of operational vehicles to security agencies at the FCT Administration Secretariat on Thursday, he defended the demolitions as necessary for enforcing compliance with land use regulations.
“Let me use this opportunity to tell Nigerians and residents of Abuja, we are not afraid of blackmail. In fact, you cannot be in this kind of position and say you cannot be blackmailed particularly as regards this Abuja. There are so many land grabbers. Some of us have come to put our feet down. Let heaven fall. It is even better that heaven comes down now so that we would not be fasting again to go to heaven.
“We would stop anybody who thinks they will take government land for whatever reason without formal approval. We would not look at your face. If you like be a civil rights activist or a television personality. No amount of blackmail can stop us. People take government property without approval or documentation,” the Minister stated.
