FCTA directors apologise to Wike, flag ex-naval chief’s ‘18-year-old letter’ for Abuja land

Directors at the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) have apologised to Nyesom Wike over a recent confrontation involving him and military officers in the nation’s capital.

On Tuesday, a video circulated online showing Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), in a heated exchange with A.M Yerima, a naval officer, at a site in the Gaduwa district of Abuja.

The land, identified as plot 1946, is linked to Awwal Gambo, a former chief of naval staff, who allegedly commenced construction on the site despite an FCTA directive halting work due to the alleged absence of valid documentation.

Speaking with journalists on Thursday, Mukhtar Galadima, director of development control at FCTA, explained how Wike became involved in the matter.

Galadima said on October 17, staff of the department of development control, while on routine monitoring of developments across the nation’s capital, discovered a construction within the Southern Parkway corridor.

He said when officials requested approval documents, they were met with “stiff resistance” and “threats to shoot “from navy personnel on the site.

Galadima said the military officers claimed all their approvals were with their lawyers and engineers, but the only document eventually produced was a 2007 letter of intent issued by the department of parks and recreation — not a formal development approval.

Galadima said FCTA officials returned to the site on Monday, where they met Yerima and again appealed to him to produce the approval documents, insisting that what they had was a letter of intent.

Galadima said during the discussion, a lawyer representing the former naval chief arrived and insisted they had approval for the construction.

“I explained that there is a clear difference between submission and approval, and it is illegal within the prohibitions of the FCT Act of 1976 and the Urban and Regional Planning Law of 1992 to commence development in the federal capital territory without approval,” he said.

Galadima said he, subsequently, sent a distress call to the Wike because of the presence of armed military officers at the site, which ultimately led to the public confrontation.

“And on getting there, that ugly incident happened, which I am really sorry to the honourable minister for,” he said.

“I want to sincerely apologise to the honourable minister for dragging him into this situation on that fateful Tuesday.”

Chijioke Nwankwoeze, director of lands administration, said the claimants were relying on an 18-year-old letter of intent from the department of parks and recreation, which only permitted them to manage and operate a designated park site and did not confer any legal right of occupancy or approval to construct on the land.

“I wish to make it clear that in the FCT, the only thing that gives you title to land is the statutory right of occupancy. Letter of intent is not a title,” Nwankwoeze said.

“Since he had not submitted a detailed technical proposal, no lease agreement was given to him. He did not develop and complete development on the site within one year, as he didn’t build anything by 2008.

“Beyond not having title, in Abuja, you cannot build anything without approval of the plans you submitted because the department of development control will look at your design proposal and certify and ascertain that what you propose to develop is in line with the dictates of the master plan.”

Nwankwoeze added that the construction on the site is done illegally.