Nyesom Wike, Minister of Federal Capital Territory(FCT) has commanded that the popular COVID-19 market in Area 11, Abuja be demolished.
Osi Braimah, Director of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB),confirmed this while speaking with journalists during the demolition of shanty stores built in the market.
He stressed that “The removal of shanties and illegal settlements in Area 11 and some parts of the city is to curb the incessant insecurity faced by residents”.
“This is an ongoing exercise by various agencies of the FCT; AEPB has been given a marching order by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to scale up demolition of all shanties, illegal settlements, and squatter camps in the FCT.
“We have been doing this for a long time, primarily because this scaling up will improve city sanitation and also cater for the attendant problem of insecurity,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Ex-Rivers State Governor had ordered FCTA to revoke unused plots of land, leading to top politicians, organisations and government agencies losing lands.
On Wednesday, customs officers led by the Acting Comptroller-General, Adewale Adeniyi, visited Wike to make a case that the affected land be returned.
Adeniyi requested land to build primary and secondary schools for children of the more than 2,000 customs officers residing in the FCT.
Responding to them, Wike said; “I read your letter on the revoked land, very bad; very bad; very bad, but what do I do? When we gave you the land, you refused to use it; FCT will now sell it to you, and when we give you Certificate of Ownership, you pay our ground rent.
“I will give you the opportunity to buy the land from FCT and give you the value of the land now,” he said.
The minister expressed a commitment from the FCTA to assist the service in accomplishing its goals and objectives. However, he voiced concerns about government agencies receiving land allocations in the FCT but failing to develop them.
Regarding the land designated for school development, the minister assured the customs boss that it would be taken into consideration, provided that the agency commits to developing the land within a specified timeframe. The minister also warned that if this condition is not met, the land allocation would be revoked.
|DailyTimes
