By Chinasaokwu Helen Okoro
Minister justifies action, donates vehicles to security agencies Senate, during its plenary, yesterday, urged the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration to suspend demolitions, except those already sanctioned by court orders, pending the outcome of an investigation into the exercise.
The resolution followed a motion raised by Senator Ireti Kingibe, representing the FCT.Kingibe expressed concern about the large-scale demolition of structures in Abuja, which, she argued, often disregarded due process and inflicted significant hardship on residents.
She cited the specific case of Paul Osang Estate, a property allocated in 1984, currently under threat of demolition despite having valid title documents.
While presenting her motion, she indicated that the Federal Capital Administration, on the instruction of the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, embarked on massive demolition of structures within the Federal Capital Territory.
She expressed concern that in recent times, the demolition exercise in the FCT was no longer based on reasons adduced by the FCT administration.According to her, the current demolition in the FCT is not in line with due process of court orders.
Specifically, she expressed worry that at the moment, an estate, named Mesas Paulosa, for which the late Colonel Paul Osang Kwanwa of Bebo, was the chairman, was under revocation and demolition.
“From reliable information, the said plot of land was allocated to him in 1984 with the requisite title document.
And of further concern is that the owner of this estate was a patriotic Nigerian, who served the nation meritoriously and one of the first intake of the Nigerian Defence Academy Kaduna with registration number 001.
Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan seconded the motion, calling for a thorough investigation by a Senate ad hoc committee to ensure fairness and transparency.
Senator Karimi Sunday representing the people of Kogi West, in his response, said: “As the Chairman of the External Committee on Judicial and Legal Matters, I align with the position that the demolitions should be paused. If we proceed with demolitions before conducting an investigation, it would lead to unnecessary complications, including potential litigation by affected property owners seeking compensation.
The Senate President, on his part, said: “The right course of action, in my opinion, is to put a hold on all demolitions, while we set up a committee to investigate.
This committee can then invite the minister and other stakeholders to provide explanations and ensure that proper procedures are being followed.
”The Senate, therefore, set up an ad hoc committee with Senator Barau Jibrin as chairman and members including Senators Sahabi Ya’u, Victor Umeh, Jimoh Ibrahim, Yisa Ashiru, Jarigbe AgomJarigbe, Mohammed Tahir Monguno, Abdullahi Yahaya and Idiat Oluranti Adebule.
The committee was given two weeks to conclude its findings.BEFORE the Senate resolution, Wike had, earlier yesterday, insisted that efforts to recover illegally obtained property would not be deterred by criticism.
He spoke in reaction to criticism that followed the demolition of a building owned by a construction company, saying the fact that someone did something 15 years ago and was not stopped does not mean it was right.
He also warned construction companies in the territory against land grabbing, pointing out that the fact that they were given lands to house their equipment did not automatically confer on them ownership.
Wike spoke while donating 50 vehicles to security agencies to enhance their operations.Justifying the donation of vehicles to security agencies, the minister noted that the government had no excuses not to ensure that the security of the people was given serious attention.
The minister identified the central issue in governance as security, adding that once the people could have confidence that they could sleep with their two eyes closed, then so many other things would follow.He advised recipients to ensure that the vehicles would be utilised to secure the people alone.In this articleFCT demolitionsSenateSenator Ireti Kingibe
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