By Sarah NEGEDU
Officials of Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA, have been asked to immediately allocate new land to those affected by the ongoing construction of Arterial road N16 in Gishiri village.
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, gave the directive on Wednesday, when he visited the area for assessment.
Members of the community had accused FCDA officials of giving them a swampy area to resettle.
However, the FCDA Director of Land, Chijioke Nwankwoeze, explained that two areas was set for the relocation, a 12-hectare land with 58 plots around Hope for Survival Orphanage and another 1.7-hectare site with five plots, located behind Local Education Authority Primary School in the community.
He said that the land had not been allocated to the victims because they 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 said.
The director, however, said that no area was completely free in the resettlement site location around Hope for Survival Orphanage.
He explained that the area was demolished a long time ago, adding that people applied for building plans and began developing the area haphazardly.
But Wike interjected the director, saying, “I don’t agree with you, and this should be the last time I will 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.
The minister also asked the director, Department of Resettlements and Compensation, Nasiru Suleiman to pay compensation to the affected persons within one-week.
He advised those whose buildings were pulled down by the road project to accept the monetary part of the compensation before the land.
“If you don’t take the money, I’ll not give you people the land again. Go and collect the money. So as you take the land, you start developing it, if I hear that you did not take it, I would not also give you the land and you would be the one that’ will suffer it”
Wike had earlier said the initial compensation budget of N655m was increased to N1.3bn due to the economic situation in the country.
He clarified that the compensation rates were determined by government valuation standards and assured that due process should be followed to ensure fairness and transparency.
The victims claimed that they were given a an area covered by water which they said would not be good for habitation, insisting that they should be given the land behind the Local Education Authority, LEA, Primary School, Gishiri.
