Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, has directed the immediate demolition of buildings constructed on designated waterways across Abuja following recent flooding in parts of the nation’s capital.
Wike issued the directive on Tuesday during a press briefing at his office after inspecting areas affected by heavy rainfall and flooding in the FCT.
The minister said the inspection revealed that some property owners had obstructed water channels identified in the Abuja Master Plan, thereby contributing to the flooding.
“We have seen how people have blocked channels where, in the master plan, that is the right way where a channel is supposed to be. People, by their positions, have blocked it, believing that nothing will happen,” Wike said.
He warned that structures found obstructing waterways would be removed, regardless of the status or influence of their owners.
“I am going to bring those houses down. Any house that falls on the water channel will go down,” the minister declared.
Wike directed the FCT Development Control Department to identify and take action against buildings erected on waterways by Saturday.
“From today to Saturday, if Development Control likes, let them find any excuses. They can’t. We will demolish all those houses found on the water channel,” he said.
The minister also dismissed concerns that the demolition exercise could be influenced by the political status of property owners, noting that some of the affected buildings reportedly belong to politicians and other prominent individuals.
“Some of them are Senators, some of them are big men. The next thing you’ll see is campaigns now: ‘Oh, why is he doing this during the election?’ Stop it! We have finished elections,” Wike said.
He added that the recent flooding had highlighted the danger posed by developments that interfere with designated drainage routes.
The directive followed Wike’s inspection of flooded locations in Maitama, where he visited a drainage area occupied by a structure despite the revocation of the plot in 2011.
The minister’s aide on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, described the location as a drainage area that had previously been allocated but subsequently revoked.
The FCT Administration has also said it is reviewing the 1979 Abuja Master Plan to bring it in line with current realities, while measures are being taken to improve drainage infrastructure and prevent the removal of drainage covers.
The latest directive comes after heavy rainfall on Saturday caused flooding in several parts of Abuja, raising renewed concerns about drainage capacity, blocked waterways and development on flood-prone areas.
