The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has threatened to remove the Acting Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Engr. Richard Dauda, over allegations of unfair compensation to residents of the Gishiri community in Katampe District.
TheNewsGuru reports that the former Rivers governor’s threat stemmed from the ongoing construction of the Arterial Road N16, which passes through Gishiri.
Following the unresolved compensation and relocation issues affecting 455 residents whose homes are situated along the construction corridor, the project has been hooked with delays.
Wike, while speaking during a heated stakeholders’ meeting on Monday in Abuja, expressed displeasure over reports that some affected residents were offered as little as N72,000 for their properties.
The minister further warned the executive secretary that any shady dealings in the compensation exercise would be met with severe consequences.
“Go and pay people their money, the exact amount—the one I approved—because I’m hearing so many things. If you are doing any deal and I find out, you will regret it,” Wike warned.
He further said, “Give people their rightful compensation. The day I hear such things again, you will explain to me how. I will remove you from there.”
Wike further frowned on allegations of ethnic bias in the exercise, stressing that compensation must be based on ownership documentation, not ethnic background.
“Government does not pay compensation based on where you come from. If a road passes through your land and you have the papers, you deserve to be paid. Nobody should be denied because they are non-indigenes,” he said.
Members of the community voiced frustrations over the handling of their relocation.
The Gishiri youth leader, Umaru Godwin, accused Dauda of defying the minister’s directives by proposing a water-logged relocation site unsuitable for building new homes.