The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has ordered the immediate demolition of houses built on waterways in Abuja, declaring that the structures would be pulled down regardless of the status of their owners or the ongoing election season.
Wike gave the order on Tuesday during a press briefing in Abuja on the recent flooding in the Federal Capital Territory, saying any house found obstructing designated water channels would be demolished.
He said the government would no longer tolerate developments that block waterways and contribute to flooding in the nation’s capital.
“I’m going to bring those houses down. Any house that’s found on the channel—water channel will go down,” the minister declared.
He further directed the Development Control Department to commence action immediately, warning officials against delaying the demolition on the grounds of seeking excuses.
“From today to Saturday, if there’s a development control delay, let them find any excuse to run away. They cannot. We will demolish all those houses found on the water channel.” Wike said
He stressed that the exercise would not be influenced by the political standing of the property owners.
According to him, some of the affected buildings belong to senators and other prominent Nigerians, but their status would not protect them from enforcement action.
“Some of them are senators. Some of them are big men,” he said, insisting that the government would enforce planning regulations without fear or favour.
Wike also rejected suggestions that the demolition exercise was politically motivated because it was taking place close to an election period.
“Whether there’s an election or there’s no election, oh, all those houses will go down, and Heaven will not fall. Rather, heaven will be at peace that the right thing has been done.” He said
The minister said recent inspections had revealed that some property owners had blocked channels designated in the Abuja Master Plan for the movement of stormwater. He said the owners had acted on the assumption that nothing would happen because the violations had existed for years without enforcement.
“Unfortunately, we have gone there, and we have seen how people have blocked channels where, in the master plan, that is the right way where the water is supposed to be channelled.
“Now you have done your own by blocking the water channel, and nothing has happened. Thank God the flood has come. It has drawn our attention to the place. Now something will happen,” Wike said.
While attributing the recent flooding to both natural and human factors, the minister said the unusually heavy rainfall associated with climate change had contributed to the situation.
However, he said human activities, including construction on waterways, development on unauthorised land and poor maintenance of drainage systems, had worsened the problem.
He also blamed the failure of some officials to desilt drainages and the indiscriminate dumping of refuse into drainage channels.
The minister said the FCT Administration had already identified areas requiring urgent intervention and directed the immediate desilting of affected drainage systems.
“Yes, we have to immediately start desilting some of the areas we have identified,” he said, while urging residents to stop dumping refuse into drains and waterways.
Wike also defended the performance of President Bola Tinubu’s administration in the FCT, saying critics were attempting to use the flooding to discredit its achievements.
He said the administration had signed 26,000 Certificates of Occupancy in three years, compared with 7,000 signed by two previous administrations over 13 years.
He said the flooding should not be politicised, stressing that Abuja had experienced flooding before the present administration and that major cities around the world had also faced similar challenges.
“Flooding has taken place in Dubai. Flooding has taken place in America, in England,” Wike said, adding that the FCT Administration would continue addressing the human factors responsible for flooding.
The minister said he would not be distracted by political commentators seeking to turn the flooding into a political controversy.
“I have no interest. My interest is we’ll continue to do the right thing in FCT, where no one will stop,” he said.
Wike particularly appreciated Nigerians who genuinely drew the government’s attention to problems but rejected attempts to use the flood to undermine the administration, saying, “I never created any flood.”
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