Directors of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) have apologised to Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), following a confrontation between him and military personnel at a disputed construction site in Abuja.
Gatekeepers News reports that a video that surfaced on Tuesday showed Wike in a heated exchange with A.M. Yerima, a naval officer, at plot 1946 in the Gaduwa district. The land is linked to Awwal Gambo, a former chief of naval staff, who reportedly began construction despite an FCTA stop-work order over lack of valid documentation.
Addressing journalists on Thursday, Mukhtar Galadima, FCTA’s director of development control, detailed how the minister became involved. He said officials discovered construction activity on October 17 during routine monitoring of the Southern Parkway corridor.
When staff requested approval documents, he said they were met with “stiff resistance” and even “threats to shoot” from naval personnel on site.
According to Galadima, the officers claimed their papers were with their lawyers and engineers, but the only document eventually shown was a 2007 letter of intent issued by the department of parks and recreation — not an approved building permit.
Officials returned on Monday and again asked Yerima for proper documentation. A lawyer for Gambo later arrived and insisted the construction was backed by approval, a claim Galadima dismissed.
“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.
He added that he called Wike to the site due to the presence of armed military officers, which eventually led to the confrontation caught on video.
“And on getting there, that ugly incident happened, which I am really sorry to the honourable minister for,” Galadima 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, also clarified that the claimants relied on an 18-year-old letter of intent that merely allowed them to manage a park, not own or build 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,” he said.
He added that since no detailed technical proposal was ever submitted, no lease agreement was issued, and no development was completed within the mandatory one-year period.
“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 ascertain that what you propose is in line with the dictates of the master plan,” Nwankwoeze said.
He concluded that the ongoing construction at the site is illegal.
