REPS PROBE ILLEGAL ALLOCATION OF LAND IN FCT PRIOR TO WIKE'S APPOINTMENT

Read Time:1 Minute, 15 Second

The House of Representatives initiated an investigation into the purportedly illicit distribution of land just prior to Nyesom Wike’s appointment.

The House directed its FCT committee to look into all of the allocations made between January 1st and August 27th, when Mr. Wike resumed office.

JUST IN: FINANCE MINISTER SUBMITS MINIMUM WAGE COST TO TINUBU

Jonathan Gaza made a motion at plenary on Thursday, and it was followed by this resolution.

In the motion, Mr. Gaza explained that between May 29th, when former Minister Mohammed Bello resigned, and when Mr. Wike resumed office, some officials in the ministry approved lands for estate developers.

He stated that the lands were assigned without the approval of a substantive minister in the ministry.

“In the period 29th May 2023 to 21st August 2023, several title documents on land in the FCT were issued to some real estate developers in a highly suspicious manner.

“[We] wonder if the Director of Lands or any official of the FCDA who issued R of O’s purportedly in the name of the Minister of FCT at the period when the office of the Minister was vacant, had the legal right or authority to do so,” he said.

He added that “some of the beneficiaries of these alleged fraudulent allocations are already using them to forcibly grab disputed land, which is a recipe for conflicts.”

The motion was adopted unanimously when it was put to a vote by the presiding officer, Ben Kalu.