Senate President Godswill Akpabio has stated that the National Assembly cannot directly prevent the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, from carrying out the demolition of structures in Abuja.
This statement comes amid growing criticism of Wike’s demolition campaign, which has affected numerous properties in the nation’s capital.
The controversy intensified after Paullosa Nigeria Limited, a construction company, raised concerns about a demolition notice issued by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) targeting its estate in the Lifecamp area of Abuja. Vincent Enoghase, the General Manager of the estate, told journalists that the FCDA had demanded N10 million for a Right of Occupancy, which the company had already paid but had not received a receipt before the demolition notice was issued.
The issue was further fueled by allegations from social media critic Vincent Martins Otse, better known as VeryDarkMan. In a video posted online, Otse claimed that Wike had revoked the land titles for the estate and transferred them to Saravera Nigeria Limited and Kingsley Chinda, a member of the House of Representatives representing Obio/Akpor Constituency. Otse also called on security agencies to investigate, pointing out that the original owner of the land was the first cadet of the Nigerian Army, who passed away four years ago.
On Thursday, Senator Ireti Kingibe, representing the FCT, raised the matter in plenary, stressing that the demolitions were causing severe hardship for the affected victims. She appealed to the Senate to intervene and halt further demolitions, particularly for estates that had already been marked for demolition.
Supporting the motion, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from Kogi Central, representing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), seconded Kingibe’s plea. She argued that the demolition exercise should be put on hold until a thorough Senate investigation could be conducted into the matter.
However, Senate President Akpabio responded by stating that it was not within the National Assembly’s power to stop all demolitions, especially since some had been ordered by the courts. He emphasized that the government must comply with judicial directives, and therefore, Wike should continue with demolitions that were backed by court orders to avoid being in contempt of the judiciary.
In essence, while the National Assembly has expressed concern over the social and economic impacts of the demolitions, particularly for those whose properties were not legally acquired, Akpabio made it clear that any court-mandated demolitions must proceed as required by law.
