By Ayodele Oni
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has ordered the immediate demolition of houses found obstructing designated water channels in Maitama and other flood-prone areas of Abuja.
Wike, who issued the directive after inspecting flood-affected areas in Maitama on Tuesday, said the demolition would commence immediately and continue until Saturday, regardless of the ongoing political activities or the status of the owners of the affected properties.
The minister vowed that the government would no longer tolerate the obstruction of waterways by property owners, warning that the exercise would affect all structures found to have been built on designated water channels, irrespective of the status of their owners.
“We will demolish all those houses found on the water channel. Some of them are senators. Some of them are big men.
“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 stated that the recent incident has exposed several man-made factors contributing to flooding in the capital city, including the construction of buildings on waterways, blockage of drainage channels, indiscriminate dumping of refuse and failure by relevant officials to properly supervise developments and desilt drainage infrastructure.
According to him, the government has inspected the affected locations and discovered that some property owners deliberately blocked channels designated in the Abuja Master Plan for the passage of 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.”
Wike observed that the affected structures were not recently constructed and were largely owned by wealthy Nigerians, stressing that the government would no longer allow social status to prevent enforcement of development regulations.
“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.
“Those houses are not houses that were built last week. Those houses have been there 10 years ago, eight years ago.”
The minister said previous administrations might not have had the political will to enforce the regulations, while some government officials may also have failed to carry out their responsibilities effectively.
He, however, insisted that the present FCT Administration has the political will to tackle the situation.
“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.
“If there is one minister that has that political will, I have. I have the political will.”
Wike also rejected attempts to politicise the recent flooding, arguing that flooding was not a new phenomenon in Abuja or other major cities around the world.
He said while the intensity of rainfall experienced recently could be linked partly to climate change and natural factors, human activities had also contributed significantly to the flooding.
“Flood could be a natural disaster,” he added, citing flooding incidents in cities such as 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, failure to desilt drainage systems and indiscriminate disposal of waste as major human factors responsible for flooding.
He therefore directed the relevant FCT authorities to commence immediate desilting of identified drainage systems.
“The facility management is not here. Director is not here. Yes, we have to immediately start desilting some of the areas we have identified.”
The minister also appealed to residents, traders and other members of the public to stop dumping refuse into drainage channels.
The minister dismissed criticism from political commentators over the flooding and the administration’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.
Wike maintained that the FCT Administration had recorded significant achievements in the past three years, while acknowledging that more challenges remained to be addressed.
“Nobody can diminish what this administration has done in the past three years. Nobody can diminish it,” he 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.”
He also defended the administration’s record on the issuance of Certificates of Occupancy (Cs-of-O), saying 26,272 Cs-of-O had been signed within the past three years, compared with about 7,000 signed by two previous administrations over 13 years.
According to him, critics should assess the administration based on its overall performance rather than use the flooding incident to discredit its achievements.
Wike further dismissed anticipated criticism that the demolition exercise was politically motivated because of the election season.
He said enforcement of development regulations should 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 directed the FCT Development Control Department to ensure that there was no delay in carrying out the demolition.
“From today to Saturday, if Development Control delay, let them find any excuse to run away. They cannot,” Wike warned.
The minister also criticised the conversion of designated green areas in the capital into other uses, insisting that the administration would protect Abuja’s environmental assets.
He said the government would continue to enforce planning regulations irrespective of the length of time 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 continue to focus on solving problems in the FCT rather than engaging in political arguments, adding that residents who genuinely drew the government’s attention to problems in their communities would be listened to.
“My interest is we’ll continue to do the right thing in FCT, where no one will stop,” he said.
