Be you a minister of anywhere, be you an ambassador, if you know you have developed where you were not supposed to develop, your house must go down
By Moses Okorie
Some residents of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, have been in panic mood since the new minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and former Rivers State governor, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike takes over and had his maiden press conference threatening to demolish houses as well as revoke lands.
Some of the residents who spoke with 365Daily in Abuja said they were afraid that their houses may go, especially for those living across the various communities in the FCT who do not have certificates of occupancy.
They called on Wike to take it easy with rural dwellers who are still grappling with hardship occasioned by government’s policies.
Recall that Wike in his maiden press conference on Monday after he was sworn in by President Bola Tinubu vowed to demolish houses illegally constructed within the nation’s capital, no matter whose property will be affected.
The FCT Minister said houses that had been built to distort the Abuja Masterplan, as well as built on green areas, will also be demolished, no matter who it did or did not belong to.
“All those people who are distorting the Masterplan of Abuja, too bad. If you know you have built where you are not supposed to build, it will go down.
“Be you a minister of anywhere, be you an ambassador, if you know you have developed where you were not supposed to develop, your house must go down. Those who have taken over the green areas to build, sorry, our parks must come back, the green areas must come back. If you hate green, you must hate yourself,” Wike said.
While responding to questions as to whether his threatened demolition will be used as a form of vendetta against his enemies, Wike said, “Say the truth, you don’t like those who step on toes. I will step on toes.
“The big and mighty, I will step on them. If you are doing what is wrong, I will do what I am supposed to do”, noting that his task was to return the FCT to what it used to be, rather than as a witch hunt against anyone.