By Bukola Hameed
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, was involved in a dramatic confrontation with military personnel from the Nigerian Navy today in Gaduwa District, Abuja, over an alleged illegal construction.
The Minister’s visit, aimed at enforcing development control directives along the corridor of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Way, was forcibly obstructed by naval officers, who claimed to be acting on orders from a high-profile individual: a former Chief of Naval Staff.
Barrister Wike, accompanied by his team including the Director of Development Control, Town Planner Mukhtar Galadima, visited a site where unauthorized development was reportedly underway. Upon arrival, his team was blocked from accessing the site by armed naval officers.
The officers, allegedly taking instructions from the former Naval Chief, insisted they were protecting a site that was being constructed without the requisite title documents or Development Control Approval.
The Minister, visibly angered by the obstruction, condemned the action as an act of lawlessness on the part of the Nigerian Military.
”The way we have carried out our job in other areas is the same way it will be done here. He will not carry out this illegal development and land grabbing, simply because he was a former Chief of Naval Staff. I will not allow that,” Barr. Wike stressed.
Addressing journalists immediately after the tense stand-off, Minister Wike recounted that FCTA officials had previously been chased away from the same site by military personnel.
“I did instruct them [FCTA officials] to make sure that nothing takes place, in as much as they did not have any legal paper in terms of building approval or even acquisition of the land. When they came here, I was informed that the military chased them away,” he explained.
He questioned the rationale behind using armed military personnel to protect what he described as a clear case of illegal development and land grabbing, stressing that the FCT Administration would not succumb to intimidation or blackmail.
“I don’t understand how somebody who attained that position and he sees that he has a problem, cannot approach my office to explain what is going on. Or simply because he’s a military man, he felt he could use that to intimidate Nigerians,” Wike queried. “What about those who don’t have the military? What about those who don’t have security?”
The Minister confirmed that he has already engaged the Chief of Defence Staff and the Chief of Naval Staff regarding the incident. Both military chiefs have reportedly assured him that they will intervene to resolve the matter and address the conduct of the officers involved.
Barrister Wike vowed that regardless of the status of the individuals involved, the FCT Administration will continue its mission to halt all illegal constructions and restore order in the territory, stating firmly that he will not allow lawlessness to prevail.
Source: FCTA Press Release
Discover more from News Live Nigeria
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.