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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has ordered the immediate demolition of houses and other structures obstructing designated water channels in Maitama and other flood-prone parts of Abuja.
Wike gave the directive on Tuesday after inspecting areas affected by the recent flooding in Maitama, directing the FCT Development Control Department to commence the demolition immediately and complete the exercise by Saturday.
The minister said the enforcement would proceed regardless of the ongoing political activities or the status of the owners of the affected properties, warning that the government would no longer allow wealthy or influential property owners to obstruct waterways.
“We will demolish all those houses found on the water channel. Some of them are senators. Some of them are big men,” Wike said.
“Whether there’s election or there’s no election, all those houses will go down. Heaven will not fall. Rather, heaven will be at peace that the right thing has been done.”
The FCT minister said the recent flooding had exposed several human activities contributing to flooding in Abuja, including the construction of buildings on waterways, blockage of drainage channels, indiscriminate dumping of refuse and the failure to properly desilt drainage infrastructure.
According to him, inspections of the affected areas showed that some property owners had deliberately blocked channels designated in the Abuja Master Plan for stormwater.
“Unfortunately, we have gone there, and we have seen how people have blocked channels where, in the Master Plan, that is the right way where the water is supposed to be channelled,” he said.
Wike said many of the affected structures were owned by wealthy Nigerians and had existed for several years, stressing that their age or the social status of their owners would not prevent enforcement.
“All those built-up areas that were not supposed to be built up, not a single poor person will live there. Those houses are houses built by well-to-do Nigerians,” he said.
“Those houses are not houses that were built last week. Those houses have been there 10 years ago, eight years ago.”
He said previous administrations might not have had the political will to enforce development regulations, while some officials may also have failed to perform their responsibilities effectively.
Wike, however, insisted that the current FCT Administration was determined to enforce planning regulations.
“And let nobody make the mistake that this government lacks the political will to do anything. The person must be making a very big mistake,” he said.
“If there is one minister that has that political will, I have. I have the political will.”
The minister also rejected attempts to politicise the flooding, saying flooding was a natural phenomenon that had affected major cities around the world, while acknowledging that human activities had worsened the situation in Abuja.
“Flood could be a natural disaster,” he said, citing flooding incidents in Dubai, the United States and the United Kingdom.
“We are in a climate change period. The kind of rains we have experienced, or we are experiencing now, we have not experienced before. But that is not that there are no man-made factors. There are.”
Wike identified the construction of buildings on waterways, development in areas not designated for construction, inadequate drainage maintenance and indiscriminate disposal of waste as major contributors to flooding.
He consequently directed relevant FCT authorities to commence immediate desilting of drainage systems identified as requiring urgent attention.
“The facility management is not here. Director is not here. Yes, we have to immediately start desilting some of the areas we have identified,” he said.
The minister also appealed to residents, traders and other members of the public to stop dumping refuse into drainage channels.
Wike dismissed criticism from political commentators over the flooding and the government’s response, saying he would not be distracted by political considerations.
“I don’t want to reply to political commentators. I don’t want to reply to people who think that appearing on TV, in their houses, will give them an edge to win an election that they have lost. No,” he said.
He maintained that the FCT Administration had recorded significant achievements over the past three years, while acknowledging that several challenges remained.
“Nobody can diminish what this administration has done in the past three years. Nobody can diminish it,” Wike said.
“This administration has done very well as far as the Federal Capital Territory is concerned. That does not mean that I can claim that it has solved all problems, no. Are there problems? Yes. Have they solved major problems? Yes. Will they continue to solve problems? Yes.”
The minister also defended the administration’s record on the issuance of Certificates of Occupancy, saying 26,272 C-of-Os had been signed in the past three years, compared with about 7,000 issued by two previous administrations over a 13-year period.
He urged critics to assess the administration based on its overall performance rather than use the flooding incident to discredit its achievements.
Wike further rejected suggestions that the demolition exercise was politically motivated because of the election season, insisting that enforcement of development regulations could not be suspended because of political activities.
“Now you have done your own by blocking the water channel and nothing has happened. Thank God the flood has come. It has drawn our attention to the place. Now something will happen,” he said.
“I’m going to bring those houses down. Any house that’s found on the water channel will go down.”
He specifically warned the Development Control Department against delaying the exercise.
“From today to Saturday, if Development Control delay, let them find any excuse to run away. They cannot,” Wike said.
The minister also criticised the conversion of designated green areas in Abuja to other uses, saying the FCT Administration would continue to protect the capital’s environmental assets and enforce planning regulations regardless of how long illegal developments had existed.
“Something that was done wrongly will not be corrected? No, we will not allow that. We won’t,” he said.
Wike said the administration would remain focused on addressing challenges in the FCT rather than engaging in political arguments, assuring residents that genuine concerns about problems in their communities would receive government attention.
“My interest is we’ll continue to do the right thing in FCT, where no one will stop,” he said.
