There was a mild drama in the Senate on Thursday as Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, urged Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, Nyesom Wike, to continue some ongoing demolition of buildings in Abuja.
Akpabio, who was responding to a motion brought before the Senate by Ireti Kingibe over the hardship being caused by the demolitions, said Wike should continue with demolition of structures ordered by the courts in order not to be culpable of disobeying court orders.
The demolitions, which have drawn widespread criticism, recently came under scrutiny when Paullosa Nigeria Limited, a construction firm, raised concerns about a demolition notice for its estate in the Lifecamp area of Abuja.
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, the General Manager of Paullosa Nigeria Limited, Vincent Enoghase, alleged that the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) issued a quit notice despite the company having paid N10 million for a Right of Occupancy that has not been granted.
In a widely circulated video on Wednesday, social media commentator Vincent Martins Otse, known as VeryDarkMan, accused the FCT Minister of revoking the estate’s land titles and reallocating them to Saravera Nigeria Limited and Kingsley Chinda, a member of the House of Representatives representing Obio/Akpor Constituency. Otse further alleged that the original landowner was the late first cadet of the Nigerian Army, who passed away four years ago.
However, Kingibe, the Senator representing the FCT, called for the Senate’s intervention to halt further actions.
Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, a Senator representing Kogi Central, supported the motion, urging the Senate to suspend all demolition activities until an investigation is conducted.
Meanwhile, the Senate has established a nine-member ad hoc committee to investigate the matter and directed Wike to appear before it.
The Senate also resolved that no structures marked for demolition without court orders should be tampered with until the committee concludes its investigation and reports back to the chamber.
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