Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyeson Wike has made it clear that no amount of blackmail in the media would stop him from correcting the administration of land in the nation’s capital city.
Reacting to recent accusations of land grabbing against his Administration in social media, the Minister emphasized that he is not afraid of blackmail and is determined to correct anomalies in land administration in the FCT.
He stressed that the FCTA would not be deterred by negative commentary in the media.
“Let me use this opportunity to tell Nigerians and the residents of the FCT that we are not afraid of blackmail. In fact, you cannot be in this kind of position and you say you will not be blackmailed, particularly as regards this Abuja where there are so many land grabbers.
“Some of us have come to put our feet down. Let heaven fall. It is even better that heaven comes down now so that we will not be fasting again to go to heaven. We will stop anybody who thinks that he can take the government’s land for whatever reason without formal approval.
“We will not look at your face. If you like, you can be a civil rights activist; if you like, you can be a television talker. What is wrong is wrong. No amount of blackmail can stop us..If you want land, you know the right thing to do; you know the right step to take. But through blackmail, you won’t get it.”
The Minister also warned ground rent and other land tax defaulters that he would not hesitate to revoke their land titles.
He said that the FCT Administration requires revenue to provide infrastructure in the city and pay staff salaries, adding that the allocation from the Federal Government alone is not sufficient.
“I have published the names in the newspapers and people think I’m joking. All of you are saying we are providing vehicles, with which money? What does the FCT get in a month from the Federal Government allocation? “If the Federal Government gets N1 trillion in a month, for example, we take 1 percent and that is N10 billion. There is no oil here. We are not collecting derivations. “It’s only what the Federal government gets, they give us one percent.
“You are talking about Wike is working, roads here, flyovers there. You own a property, pay your ground rent, you won’t pay. Then every day you say Wike is working. Will he work with his blood?”