Nyesom Wike Orders Demolition Of Houses Blocking Waterways In Abuja

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has ordered the demolition of houses and other structures built on waterways in Maitama and other flood-prone parts of Abuja.

Wike gave the order on Tuesday after visiting areas in Maitama affected by the recent flooding.

He directed the FCT authorities to start demolishing structures obstructing water channels immediately and continue the exercise until Saturday.

The minister said the operation would go ahead regardless of political activities or the identity of the property owners.

The directive followed heavy rainfall that caused flash floods in several parts of Abuja.

Wike said the FCT government would no longer allow people to build on waterways or block drainage channels.

He warned that any property found to be obstructing 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.”

According to him, the recent flooding had revealed several human activities that were making the situation worse.

These include building on waterways, blocking drainage systems, dumping waste in drainage channels and poor monitoring of construction projects.

During the inspection, Wike said officials discovered that some property owners had blocked routes reserved for stormwater in Abuja’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.

The minister said many of the affected buildings had been standing for years and were largely owned by wealthy Nigerians.

He also suggested that previous administrations may have failed to enforce planning regulations because they lacked the political will to take action against powerful 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.”

“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.

“If there is one minister that has that political will, I have. I have the political will.”

Nyesom Wike also rejected efforts to turn the flooding into a political issue.

He said flooding was a problem affecting many parts of the world and could be influenced by climate change and extreme rainfall.

However, he stressed that human activities were also responsible for worsening the impact of floods in Abuja.

He ordered the immediate clearing and desilting of drainage systems identified as needing attention.

‘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,” the minister said.

The minister also urged residents, traders and other members of the public to stop throwing waste into drainage channels.

His comments came after Senator Ireti Kingibe, who represents the FCT, said during an interview on Arise TV on Monday that she had previously warned about the possibility of serious flooding in Abuja but claimed her concerns were ignored by Wike.

Wike declined to engage in a political argument over the criticism.

He maintained that the FCT administration had made significant progress during the past three years, although he admitted that several challenges remained.

He said residents who bring genuine problems in their communities to the attention of the government would continue to receive attention.

“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.

He said the FCT administration had signed 26,272 C-of-Os within three years, compared with roughly 7,000 issued by two previous administrations over a combined period of 13 years.

The minister urged Nigerians to judge the FCT administration based on its overall performance rather than focus only on the recent flooding.

He said the government would continue working to address problems across the capital while avoiding political distractions.

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