FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has vowed to demolish buildings constructed on designated water channels across Abuja, regardless of the owners’ political influence.
Wike said some of the affected property owners are serving senators and other influential Nigerians.
He spoke against the backdrop of recent flooding in parts of the Federal Capital Territory.
“I am going to bring those houses down. Any house that is found on the water channel will go down,” Wike said.
The minister directed the Development Control Department to commence the demolition exercise immediately and continue through Saturday.
He warned officials against delaying the operation or shielding property owners.
Some of them are senators. Some of them are big men,” he said.
Wike also dismissed concerns that the demolitions could be politically motivated, especially with election activities increasing across the country.
He said the exercise would continue whether or not elections were approaching.
“Whether there’s election or there’s no election, all those houses will go down,” he declared.
According to him, many of the affected structures were not recently built but had existed for several years under previous administrations.
Wike maintained that the structures were largely owned by affluent Nigerians and not low-income residents.
On the recent flooding, the minister attributed it partly to climate change and unusually heavy rainfall.
However, he said human activities had worsened the situation.
He blamed construction on water channels, development on unauthorised land, blocked and poorly maintained drainage systems, and indiscriminate dumping of refuse.
Wike also criticised the conversion of green areas into parks, describing it as another form of land abuse that the FCT administration would no longer tolerate.
He said previous illegal land allocations or claims would not be allowed to justify continued violations of Abuja’s master plan.
The minister also highlighted what he described as the administration’s achievements in land administration.
He said the FCT had issued 26,000 Certificates of Occupancy in the past three years, compared with 7,000 issued by two previous administrations over 13 years combined.
Wike said he appreciated residents who raised genuine concerns about the flooding but rejected attempts to portray the demolition exercise as political victimisation.
He insisted that the FCT administration did not create the flooding and would not allow political considerations to prevent enforcement of the Abuja master plan.
The planned demolitions are now expected to test how far the FCT administration will go in removing structures built on waterways, regardless of the status of their owners
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