The newly sworn-in Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesome Wike, has read out his 13 point riot act to residents of Abuja. The immediate-past Governor of Rivers State, who resumed on Monday wasted no time in settling into his new assignment by vowing to return the FCT to its original master plan. He promised to restore the Abuja master plan.
Wike made this pledge shortly after he and 44 other ministers took their oaths as they were sworn in on Monday. He urged all land allottees who have been given Certificates of Occupancy but failed to develop them to quickly do so as they stand the risk of losing them to those ready to build.
The former Rivers State governor’s warning also went out to landowners who had taken over “the green areas” to build properties, saying those areas must come back. All those people who are distorting the master plan of Abuja, too bad. If you know you have built where you’re not supposed to build, it will go down,” Wike said during a press conference in Abuja on Monday, moments after taking his oath of office at the State House.”
Wike also warned land speculators that a new sheriff is in town. And those doing land marketing, the period for that is over,” he said.
As we said earlier, Wike read out his 13 point riot act to residents of Abuja as follows:
1. SECURITY WILL BE GIVEN TOP PRIORITY.
2. THOSE DISTORTING THE MASTER PLAN WILL BE DEALT WITH
3. LAND SPECULATORS ARE IN FOR A HARD TIME
4. THOSE WITH GOVT ALLOCATION AND YET TO DEVELOP WILL LOSE THEIR PROPERTIES
5. UNCOMPLETED BUILDINGS THAT HAVE BECOME SHANTIES FOR CRIMINALS WILL BE TAKEN OVER BY GOVT.
6. REARING OF COWS INSIDE THE CITY WILL STOP.
7. ALL GREEN AREAS WILL BE RESTORED.
8. WASTE DISPOSAL AND SANITATION WILL BE GIVEN TOP PRIORITY.
9. MOTORCYCLES AND KEKE NAPEP OPERATION TO BE REVIEWED.
10. REACTIVATION OF URBAN MASS TRANSPORT SYSTEM.
11. NO MORE ABANDONED PROJECT.
12. HE WILL BE A “FIELD OFFICER” MINISTER AND WILL BE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN PROJECT INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION.
13. RESTORATION OF STREETLIGHTS IN ABUJA IMMEDIATELY.
Mr Wike becomes the first southern Nigerian to occupy that position since 1979. The only other Southerner to have occupied the position, Ajose Adeogun, did so between 1976 and 1979 when the new capital city was still a project on paper. Mr Adeogun supervised the project from Lagos, the former federal capital.
Imosam (
)
