Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has ordered the immediate demolition of houses obstructing waterways in Maitama and other flood-prone areas of Abuja.
Wike gave the directive on Tuesday after inspecting areas affected by flooding in Maitama.
He said the demolition would commence immediately and continue until Saturday, regardless of the political status or social standing of the affected property owners.
The directive comes amid flash floods recorded in parts of the nation’s capital following torrential rainfall.
Wike said the FCT administration would no longer tolerate the obstruction of waterways by property owners, stressing that any structure built on a designated water channel would be demolished.
“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.”
‘Houses on water channels will be demolished no matter your social status’
Wike said the recent flooding had exposed several human activities contributing to flooding in Abuja.
He identified construction on waterways, blockage of drainage channels, indiscriminate dumping of refuse and inadequate supervision of developments as factors worsening flooding in the capital.
The minister said an inspection of affected areas revealed that some property owners had blocked channels designated for stormwater in the city’s masterplan.
“Unfortunately, we have gone there, and we have seen how people have blocked channels where, in the masterplan, that is the right way where the water is supposed to be channelled,” he said.
According to Wike, most of the affected properties belong to wealthy Nigerians and have existed for several years.
He said the government would enforce development regulations irrespective of the social status of the property owners.
“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,” he said.
“Those houses are not houses that were built last week. Those houses have been there 10 years ago, eight years ago.”
The minister said previous administrations might have lacked the political will to enforce planning regulations, while some officials may also have failed to perform their duties.
He, however, said the current FCT administration had the political will to address the problem.
“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,” Wike said.
“If there is one minister that has that political will, I have. I have the political will.”
Wike dismisses criticism over flooding response
Wike also rejected attempts to politicise the recent flooding, saying flooding was not peculiar to Abuja or Nigeria.
He attributed part of the intensity of the recent rainfall to climate change and natural factors but stressed that human activities had also contributed significantly to the situation.
The minister directed relevant FCT authorities to commence immediate desilting of identified drainage systems.
“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 said.
Wike also dismissed criticism from political commentators over the flooding and his administration’s response, saying political considerations would not distract the FCT administration.
On Monday, Ireti Kingibe, senator representing the FCT, said she had previously raised concerns about the risk of flooding in Abuja but that her warnings were ignored by Wike.
Responding to the criticism, Wike said the FCT administration had recorded significant achievements in the past three years, while acknowledging that several challenges remained.
He said residents who genuinely brought problems in their communities to the government’s attention would be heard.
“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.
“Nobody can diminish what this administration has done in the past three years. Nobody can diminish it.
“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.”
Wike also defended the administration’s record on the issuance of Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-Os).
He said 26,272 C-of-Os had been signed in the past three years, compared with about 7,000 issued by two previous administrations over 13 years.
The minister urged critics to assess the administration based on its overall performance rather than use the flooding incident to discredit its achievements.
He said the FCT administration would remain focused on addressing the capital’s challenges instead of engaging in political arguments.
Wike also urged residents, traders and other members of the public to stop dumping refuse into drainage channels.
