Flooding: Wike Dares Abuja Big Men, Lawmakers, Orders Demolition of Houses on Water Channels

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has ordered the immediate demolition of all structures built on designated water channels across Abuja, saying the exercise will not spare influential property owners or be affected by the political season.

Speaking against the backdrop of recent flooding in parts of the FCT, Wike said the demolition would include properties belonging to serving lawmakers and other highly placed Nigerians.

“I am going to bring those houses down. Any house that is found on the channel—water channel will go down,” he said.

Wike directed the Development Control Department to commence enforcement immediately and warned officials against delaying the exercise or shielding defaulters. He disclosed that some of the affected property owners were senators and other influential figures.

“Some of them are senators. Some of them are big men.”

The minister said he was prepared for criticism that could arise from the exercise during the election season, insisting that the demolitions would continue regardless of political considerations.

“Whether there’s election oh, there’s no election oh, all those houses will go down”.

Wike rejected claims that the exercise amounted to political victimisation, arguing that many of the affected structures had been standing on water channels for several years and were largely owned by wealthy Nigerians.

He said the recent flooding was caused by both unusual rainfall linked to climate change and human activities, including construction on water channels, development on unauthorised land, blocked drainage systems and indiscriminate dumping of refuse.

“We are in a climate change era. The kind of rains we have experienced, or we are experiencing now, we have not experienced before. But that is not that there are no man-made factors,” he said.

The minister also warned against the conversion of designated green areas into parks, saying longstanding violations would not be allowed to continue.

Wike further cited the issuance of 26,000 Certificates of Occupancy in the FCT over the past three years as one of the administration’s major achievements, compared with about 7,000 issued by two previous administrations over 13 years.

He accused critics of using the flooding to politicise the administration’s activities, while acknowledging residents who had raised genuine concerns about the impact of the floods.

Wike maintained that the demolition exercise would continue despite attempts to link it to political opposition, insisting that his administration would enforce the FCT master plan without favour.