Residents of Nuwalege community may be facing a glummy Christmas as the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has directed the Director, Department of Development Control to ensure that Nuwalege community, along the Abuja Airport Road is demolished to give way for presidential fleet plot.
The directive follows the request from the Nigerian Air Force.
The Director, Tpl Mukhtar Galadima told residents of the community during a citizen engagement on Tuesday in Abuja, that their settlement would have to demolished for development.
He said: “About a month ago, the authority of the Nigerian Air Force wrote to the honourable minister on their needs and desire to remove this village, because it is part of the presidential fleet plots.
“So, the minister in his wisdom requested them to allow the FCT administration to handle it, because it’s the responsibility of FCT administration. The Nigerian Air Force approached the Department of Development Control on their desire.
“So, as part of our responsibility, we have to do what you call a community and citizens engagement which is why we are here today to discuss with the community and to tell them of our intention, because it will be unfair to just bring the machine here and start removing their houses.
Speaking on the number of houses that will be demolished, Galadima hinted that about 150 to 200 houses with additional commercial stores that are attached to these houses will be removed.
While fielding questions from newsmen on the issue of compensating the affected natives, he said “We will discuss with the Air Force, because obviously discussion behind the scene indicates that some forms of compensation were paid, but we have to be certain that this compensation actually were paid, and also who was really given this compensation.
“We are going to conduct further investigation between FCT administration, that’s the Department of Resettlement and Compensation, as well as the Nigerian Air Force and find out if compensation has been paid, to who and When?
“And then we will discuss with our colleague at the Department of Resettlement and Compensation whether at any point in time, there was any compensation that ascertained their claims as regard to the number of structures and people that are going to be affected by this expansion project.”
He added, “There are certain things that we have to look into with consideration like the security, because obviously, this part of some of this settlement is where you have some of these people of the underworld trying to disguise and hide.
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