By Sarah NEGEDU
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has vowed not to allow powerful individuals desecrate the Abuja Master Plan through blackmail, declaring that no amount of pressure or military intimidation will stop the FCT Administration from enforcing its town planning laws.
Wike, who was responding to an earlier altercation between himself and some military officers who blocked him from gaining access to a property on Plot 1946 Buffer Transit, Southern Parkway, Gaduwa Distric, vowed not to allow lawlessness to prevail in the territory.
He said the days when the rich and well-connected could acquire land through back channels, erect illegal structures, or use security operatives to shield wrongdoing were over, insisting that Abuja would henceforth be governed strictly by its master plan and the rule of law.
The minister had led senior officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration to the site allegedly linked to the former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo (rtd), after receiving reports of an ongoing illegal development. But on arrival, his convoy met a barricade mounted by armed naval officers who said they were acting on “orders from above.”
The officers reportedly parked a military truck across the entrance of the property, preventing bulldozers from the FCTA Department of Development Control from entering the fenced site for demolition.
As the minister stepped out of his vehicle and attempted to gain access, the soldiers stood their ground, insisting that no one was to be allowed into the premises.
This action triggered a heated verbal exchange with Wike demanding to know who gave the order. “Who gave you the order?” a visibly angry Wike asked. But when the officer attempted to respond, the minister shouted, “Keep quiet!”
“Sir, you cannot tell me to keep quiet. I am a commissioned officer,” the soldier retorted.
An enraged Wike shot back, “You’re a fool!”
“I am not a fool, sir, and you have no right to call me one,” the officer replied.
The standoff, which lasted several tense minutes, ended when Wike’s security aides intervened and led the minister away from the blockade.
However, speaking to journalists after tension had calmed, Wike described the soldiers’ conduct as an affront to constituted authority and an attempt to intimidate government officials enforcing the law, insisting that his administration would not bow to such tactics.
The minister, while insisting that the disputed property was being developed without legal title or approval said, “You are aware that the land departments and the development control have mandated to see where the illegal development is going on and land grabbing.
“And when this was brought to my attention, I did instruct them to make sure that nothing takes place in as much as they did not have any legal paper in terms of regional approval or even the acquisition of the land.”
He explained that officials had earlier been chased away from the same site by armed personnel.
“When they came here, I was informed that the soldiers of the military had to chase them away and I thought probably they would be acting illegally. And so today while I was in the office, while they came to implement the directive that was given to them by myself, I was called that the military have taken over the place and I had to come by myself to see things for myself.”
Describing the encounter as unfortunate, Wike said he was stunned by the officer’s admission that he was acting on instructions from the former Chief of Naval Staff.
“You heard what the officer said. That he was sent by the former Chief of Naval Staff. I don’t understand how somebody who attained that position, and he said that he has a problem, cannot approach my office to say, ‘Look, this is what is going on.’ But simply because he’s a military man, he could use that to intimidate Nigerians. I’m not one of those kind of persons that will succumb to blackmail or intimidation.”
The minister said his investigation showed that the disputed land had no valid documents or building approval.
“You can imagine where you cannot even prove where are the documents. And the Director of Development Control said, look, I was here. I said bring the documents, you don’t have the documents. Bring the approval for building, you don’t have it. How can we continue to allow lawlessness to prevail in this country?
“What about those who don’t have the military? What about those who don’t have security? It has gotten to a level where, when government officials are carrying out their job, some people think they can go and bring security to intimidate them. And this government official, I will not accept that.”
Wike disclosed that he had immediately contacted both the Chief of Defence Staff and the Chief of Naval Staff, who, according to him, promised to intervene on the matter.
“I’ve spoken to the Chief of Defence Staff and I’ve spoken to the Chief of Naval Staff and they have assured me that, please, they have to resolve the matter. We’re not coming here to have a shootout with anybody, to cause chaos and all. But what I can say is that I would not allow it to happen.”
He stressed that the FCT Administration would continue to enforce land-use regulations and demolish illegal structures irrespective of the social or political status of those involved.
“The way we have done and carried out our jobs in other areas is the same way it will be done here. He will not carry out this illegal development on land grounds simply because he was a former Chief of Naval Staff. I would not allow that.”
Neither Vice Admiral Gambo nor the Nigerian Navy had issued any official statement on the incident as at press time,
