By Omeiza Ajayi
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister Nyesom Wike has ordered relevant officials of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to allocate land for the resettlement of demolition victims in Gishiri village within one week and also pay them approved monetary compensation.
Wike gave the order on Wednesday when he visited the community as part of troubleshooting efforts between the victims and the FCDA over the payment of compensation and their relocation.
Vanguard recalls that 455 houses and structures were demolished in the village at Katampe District, Abuja, to make way for the Arterial Road N16.
At a stakeholders’ parley on Monday, some of the victims accused officials of trying to shortchange them by valuing their properties at N72,000 and of allocating a swampy area for them to relocate.
Arriving in the area on Wednesday, Wike asked the Director of Lands in the Administration, Mr Chijioke Nwankwoeze, about the plots set aside for the relocation of the affected persons.
The director explained that there were two areas — a 12-hectare land with 58 plots around Hope for Survival Orphanage and a 1.7-hectare land with five plots located behind Local Education Authority Primary School in the community.
According to him, the plots had not been allocated to the victims because the officials wanted the minister to see the areas first.
“We felt you will need to see the place first before we start allocating the land to them. We will merge the plots and design them into plots before we will give them,” he explained.
Wike, however, interjected, saying, “I do not agree with you, and this should be the last time I hear this complaint. I give you people one week. Go and allocate the land to the affected persons. If it is not enough, we will find another alternative. All this grammar, grammar, grammar, I don’t want to hear it.”
When he asked the Director of Resettlement and Compensation, Mr Nasiru Suleiman, about the compensation for the victims, Suleiman said payment had not begun but would commence after the land had been given to the victims.
The minister, however, ordered the director to commence payment and urged the community leaders to collect the money or risk losing the land again.
“If you don’t take the money, I will not give you the land again. Go and collect the money so that when you get the land, you will start developing it,” he said.
The FCT Administration had earlier provided N655 million for compensation to the affected persons based on officially approved valuation rates, but the minister jerked the figure up to N1.3 billion to align with current realities.
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