Esther Salifu
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) is facing intense scrutiny over transparency and accountability concerns regarding housing allocation and property relocation.
FCT residents and Civil Society Organisations is urging Nyesom Wike the FCT Minister to address the concerns, while ensuring accountability and transparency in the FCTA’s actions.
At a World press conference organized by concerned FCT resident in collaboration with 65 civil society organizations in FCT, the Convener, Alhaji Hussaini Abubakar Agare bemoans the corruption in FCT on land administration and AGIS.
“We demand transparency in these dealings,” Why is Governor Wike overlooking the internal issues plaguing the FCT, such as poor working conditions for doctors and teachers, and unfulfilled allowances?”
In the same vein, he said Wike aims to dismantle the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS), established to curb corruption and mismanagement in land administration.
“It is an irony that when various states are taking after the AGIS to sanitize land administration, Wike is taking the FCT back to where the states are abandoning. In perfecting this, he is mercilessly crushing every internal resistance from those who toiled to put up the systems within the FCDA.”
“AGIS minimizes human manipulation, ensuring transparency and accountability. Yet, Wike, with his legal background, chooses to ignore this. His motive is clear: to dominate “, he said.
He further noted that Wike is equally replacing people in strategic offices with his own people who would obviously end up doing his bidding, simply to convert Abuja into his estate.
“Chijoke Nwanko Eze who he recently appointed as director of land in the FCDA is back to serve as his hit man. Those of us relating with land and issues related in the FCT, are aware how he was herded out of the FCDA in the past because of several allegations, including allocation of several plots to himself. He would now help to implement his principal’s unholy agenda”.
“The removal recently of the director, urban and regional planning may not have been unconnected to with this agenda. For him, you either help him to entrench his dominion and hang up his sculpture, or you are out of play”, he said
He further stated that “Wike cannot claim to be unaware of the reasons. Abuja is rapidly expanding because of population movement and this has further made the land business very intricate, if big.
“The market is prone to fraud, manipulation and a lot of crisis, bred by highly entrenched businessmen in cahoots with officials in the FCTA and FCDA. Out of these crises, individuals lose their lands or fortunes and government loses revenue. With AGIS, human participation in the process is limited and most especially, with clear traceability and accountability of every action taken.”
