Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has defended the intervention at Jabi Lake, a popular recreation park in Abuja, ordering a crackdown on substandard developments around the park.
The Minister said this in his reaction to the appeal of Rev Serah Omaku, Senior Pastor of Family Worship Centre, Abuja.
Leading reporters had reported how the preacher knelt on the pulpit, pleading with Wike not to repossess the land.
A video of the Pastor’s appeal went viral on social media.
But speaking during a media chat in Abuja on Wednesday, Wike dismissed the Pastor’s concerns, insisting that enforcement action at Jabi Lake was guided by law, not sentiment.
“You talk about the woman kneeling down and begging. I’m not carried away by such emotions. Begging to do what? Who owns Jabi Lake? How does it become your own? First of all, I came on board; that place was given to a company that said they wanted to turn it into an entertainment place, but they have turned it into shanties.”
One of these days I went there and said, ‘This can’t be; there is a hotel, and who would come to stay in that hotel when there are shanties all over?’ You don’t know if there are criminals.”
He stated that the allocation had been revoked and would be reassigned to investors with the capacity to develop the site, adding that strict conditions would guide the new arrangement.
“You cannot allocate land and leave it for that long with nothing to show. We revoked it. Now we want to give it to people who are ready to develop it,” Wike said.
“We will reallocate the land with clear conditions. If there is no development within the specified time, we will take it back.
“To the woman who was crying, if she likes, let her call God to come down. What is my business? How does Jabi become hers? Is it an individual or government property? We are trying to make sure investors develop this land for the interest of all of us.”
Wike said several plots around the lake, initially allocated for high-end developments, had remained undeveloped for over a decade and had since deteriorated into makeshift settlements.
The minister confirmed that the FCT Administration had begun revoking such allocations, signalling a tougher stance against land speculation in the capital city.
“You must sign to develop within a given period. If you fail, the land returns to government. It is as simple as that,” he added.
Wike, however, rejected suggestions that the exercise is intended to restrict public access to the lake, clarifying that the focus is on reclaiming misused or abandoned land.
“We are not taking anything from the public. We are reclaiming land from those who failed to do what they were supposed to do or who converted it to unauthorised uses,” he said.
He also decried the distortion of approved land use, citing instances where recreational spaces were converted without authorisation.