Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has ordered the immediate demolition of buildings found obstructing designated water channels in Maitama and other flood-prone areas of Abuja.
Wike issued the directive on Tuesday after inspecting areas affected by recent flooding in Maitama, declaring that the demolition exercise would begin immediately and continue through Saturday, irrespective of ongoing political activities or the status of the property owners.
The minister warned that the FCT Administration would no longer tolerate developments that obstruct waterways, insisting that all structures found to have been erected on designated water channels would be removed.
“We will demolish all those houses found on the water channel. Some of them are senators. Some of them are big men,” Wike said.
“Whether there’s election or there’s no election, all those houses will go down. Heaven will not fall. Rather, heaven will be at peace that the right thing has been done.”
According to the minister, the recent flooding had exposed several human activities contributing to flooding in Abuja, including construction on waterways, blocked drainage systems, indiscriminate waste disposal and inadequate supervision of developments.
Wike said inspections of affected locations revealed that some property owners had deliberately blocked channels designated in the Abuja Master Plan to convey stormwater.
“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,” he said.
The minister said many of the affected properties were owned by wealthy Nigerians and had existed for years, stressing that the government would not allow the status of property owners to influence enforcement of planning regulations.
“All those built-up areas that were not supposed to be built up, not a single poor person will live there. Those houses are houses built by well-to-do Nigerians,” Wike said.
“Those houses are not houses that were built last week. Those houses have been there 10 years ago, eight years ago.”
He suggested that previous administrations may not have possessed the political will to enforce the regulations, while some officials may also have failed to discharge their responsibilities effectively.
Wike, however, insisted that his administration had the resolve to enforce development regulations and address violations across the capital.
“And let nobody make the mistake that this government lacks the political will to do anything. The person must be making a very big mistake,” he said.
“If there is one minister that has that political will, I have. I have the political will.”
Wike Blames Human Activities for Flooding
The FCT minister also rejected attempts to politicise the flooding, noting that flooding was a natural occurrence experienced in Abuja and major cities around the world.
He acknowledged that climate change and the intensity of recent rainfall could have contributed to the situation but stressed that human activities had also worsened the problem.
“Flood could be a natural disaster,” Wike said, citing flooding incidents in cities including Dubai, the United States and the United Kingdom.
“We are in a climate change period. The kind of rains we have experienced, or we are experiencing now, we have not experienced before. But that is not that there are no man-made factors. There are.”
He identified construction on waterways, development in areas not designated for buildings, failure to desilt drainage systems and indiscriminate dumping of refuse as major contributors to flooding.
Wike consequently directed relevant FCT authorities to commence immediate desilting of identified drainage channels.
“The facility management is not here. Director is not here. Yes, we have to immediately start desilting some of the areas we have identified,” he said.
He also appealed to residents, traders and other members of the public to stop dumping waste into drainage channels.
‘No Political Consideration in Enforcement’
Wike dismissed criticism from political commentators over the flooding and the administration’s response, saying he would not allow political considerations to distract the FCT Administration from addressing problems in the capital.
“I don’t want to reply to political commentators. I don’t want to reply to people who think that appearing on TV, in their houses, will give them an edge to win an election that they have lost. No,” he said.
The minister maintained that the FCT Administration had recorded significant achievements in its first three years, while acknowledging that challenges remained.
“Nobody can diminish what this administration has done in the past three years. Nobody can diminish it,” Wike said.
“This administration has done very well as far as the Federal Capital Territory is concerned. That does not mean that I can claim that it has solved all problems, no. Are there problems? Yes. Have they solved major problems? Yes. Will they continue to solve problems? Yes.”
He also defended the administration’s record on the issuance of Certificates of Occupancy, saying 26,272 Certificates of Occupancy had been signed in the past three years, compared with about 7,000 issued by two previous administrations over 13 years.
Wike urged critics to assess the administration based on its overall performance rather than use the flooding incident to discredit its achievements.
Wike: ‘Any House on Water Channel Will Go Down’
The minister also dismissed suggestions that the demolition exercise could be politically motivated because it was being carried out during an election period.
He insisted that enforcement of development regulations could not be suspended because of political activities.
“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.
“I’m going to bring those houses down. Any house that’s found on the water channel will go down.”
He directed the FCT Development Control Department to ensure that the demolition exercise was carried out without delay.
“From today to Saturday, if Development Control delay, let them find any excuse to run away. They cannot,” Wike warned.
The minister also criticised the conversion of designated green areas in Abuja to other uses, insisting that the administration would protect the capital’s environmental assets and enforce planning regulations regardless of how long illegal developments had existed.
“Something that was done wrongly will not be corrected? No, we will not allow that. We won’t,” he said.
Wike said the FCT Administration would remain focused on addressing challenges in the capital rather than engaging in political arguments, adding that residents who genuinely brought problems in their communities to the attention of government would be listened to.
“My interest is we’ll continue to do the right thing in FCT, where no one will stop,” he said.
