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• Orders removal of dealerships, tougher enforcement on flood channels
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has ordered a probe into FCT directors over alleged approvals granted to car dealers to operate on designated green areas in Abuja, as the administration targets the completion of 10 major infrastructure projects before the 2027 general elections.
Wike, who disclosed the probe on Wednesday during an inspection of ongoing road projects in the territory, said the Director of Development Control was already being queried over approvals allegedly granted to car dealers to use green areas.
“This morning, the Director of Development Control is being queried now for giving approval to car dealers to use green areas for the sale of cars,” he said.
The minister also ordered the immediate removal of car dealerships from the affected spaces and constituted a task force to enforce the directive. “I’ve already stopped it, and I’ve set up a task force to make sure that every car dealer is moved out of the green areas. If you want to sell your car, you go and purchase somewhere, or rent somewhere, and then develop it.”
Wike said the directive applied regardless of the businesses or individuals affected, insisting that Abuja’s green areas were designated for environmental and recreational purposes and should not be converted to commercial use.
The minister linked the enforcement drive to the administration’s broader efforts to protect Abuja’s master plan, preserve public infrastructure and tackle flooding.
He said the FCT Administration would sustain the demolition of structures obstructing waterways, following the commencement of an exercise in Maitama aimed at clearing blocked drainage channels and reducing flooding risks.
“We’ve just started somewhere. After that, we will move to another area. We are not going to end just with what we started yesterday,” he said.
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Wike also challenged critics of the demolition of structures obstructing waterways to explain how buildings erected on drainage channels could have been approved.
“What is due process? What is due process? You went to block a water channel, is that due process?” he asked.
On infrastructure development, Wike said the FCT Administration was targeting at least 10 major projects for commissioning before the 2027 general elections.
He gave the assurance while inspecting the ongoing Tungan Madaki-Zuba Road and Nile University-RR3 Road projects, expressing satisfaction with the pace of construction and the capacity of the contractors.
At the Tungan Madaki-Zuba Road project, the minister said five of the six box culverts had been completed, while the contractor, China Geo-Engineering Corporation (CGC), had committed to delivering the project by December.
He expressed confidence in the contractor, citing its experience, equipment and capacity.
Wike also disclosed that some contractors were executing capital-intensive projects without receiving up to 30 per cent mobilisation, but assured them that the FCT Administration would honour its financial obligations to prevent funding from delaying the projects.
“We are also visiting some other two projects tomorrow, believing that by the end of the year, we would have had up to 10 projects, as promised, lined up for commissioning before the general election.”
He said the administration would continue inspecting ongoing projects to ensure that contractors’ commitments translated into completed infrastructure.
