The Minister of the Nigerian Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has make a passionately appealed to original inhabitants to stop selling their birth rights to non-indigenes.
“It is not all the lands we give to you that you sell, you must remember that you have a growing families and must keep your heritage“, he said.
The minister made this appeal while meeting with chiefs of seven communities along Lugbe, Airport road to fashion out ways to resolve the imminent challenges emanating from sales of lands to non-indigene in the nation’s capital.
On behalf of the minister, his Senior Special Assistant on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Comrade Ikharo Attah said, Bello has the interest of the indigenous people at heart and will not do anything to twat the peaceful co-existence of the people.
“The families of indigenous people are growing and we must look for ways to accommodate them. A layout is under way to cater exclusively for this purpose.
“I appeal to you not to sell them when you get them. This is what is applicable and after selling, you begin to cry foul. This is not acceptable.
“We are coming to demolish all non-indigenous building in your communities, it will be massive, why we are not touching yours is because is your ancestral home and since you have not been relocated we will not touch your buildings.
“The Minister has directed that we move in and remove all illegal structures within the nation’s capital. Non indigene houses will be removed without any compensation”, he said.
He, however, advise that ,when government give you allocation, please don’t sell, always remember your growing families and if you must sell tell them is farm lands so that when we demolish they will not fall back to you.
Acting Director, Development Control, Tpl Garba Kwamkur said the meeting was at the instance of the Minister.
He said, “The minister instructed that we moved in to write the structural wrongs in the communities”.
He said they have already marked some of the illegal structures and those that has not been marked we will do that before the year runs to an end.
Kwamkur said they will start demolishing in the first quarter of next year.
The Director stressed that, they will not spare any illegal estates spring up in Lugbe.
Malam Yusuf Mugajji, Aguma of Sauka one of the Chiefs who spoke with newsmen appealed to the Federal Capital Territory Administration that, if possible enforcement agencies should be left to secure the demolished community 24 hours after the exercise saying, after the demolition, hoodlums will take over and be looting the indigenous communities as soon as the task force have gone.
He also called on the administration to save them from estate developers who are carrying fake papers clamping that the land belongs to them.
Dominica Nwabufo
