FCDA demolishes N2.5bn estate in Abuja
The Department of Development Control of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has demolished a 14-unit semi-detached-duplex estate in the Apo District of the capital city.
The demolished estate, worth about N2.5 billion, according to the construction engineer, contained 48 living rooms and two duplex school apartments, was said to have reached a 90 per cent completion.
The Project Manager of the estate, Samuel James Eyesore, said: “On Thursday last week, while we were working at the site at about 2.00pm, we saw an 18-passenger Coaster Bus with development control officials, a bulldozer and an Hilux-pickup van carrying armed mobile policemen numbering about 20.
“An officer of the department led the team. I tried to as much as possible for him to give me audience but all to no avail.” He said they were not given any reason for their actions, but pointed out that before the day of the incident, they were told that the land upon which they were building was meant for a nursery and primary school.
“They said we should go back and verify the original plan on the land in the office of Regional Planning of the department and do the necessary things, which we did. We have the acknowledgement letter of the office in our possession.
“I tried to explain this to the leader of the team but he did not give me any opportunity. They told us to go and apply for 10 hectares of land initially, which was allocated to us including this place, which they now demolished and without this place, the 10 hectares will not be completed. We have buildings for nursery and primary school in this, so I don’t know what their problem is”, he argued.
One of the site engineer, who spoke to Daily Sun on condition of anonymity alleged that some officials of the development control had earlier demanded the sum of N7 million from the authorities of the estate, out of which about N5 million had been given to them.
He stressed that the alleged officials had recently threatened to let heaven loose if they failed to pay the remaining N2 million as expected but that they were pleading for more time before this development.
But responding, the Public Relations Officer of Development Control, Mrs. Juicy Mudasiru, in a telephone chat dismissed the allegations saying that it was an attempt to blackmail FCTA.
According to her, “the God’s Own Estate committed an encroachment on school plot. They were served with quit notice sometimes in 2008 but they ignored it. We have after then been served them with several quit notices but they have refused to comply. “On allegations of money collection by our officials, if they have any evidence to that effect, we will be very happy if they bring it forward so that we can use it to trace the culprits and act appropriately,” the PRO noted.
A former Head of State, General Abdusallam Abubakar [rtd] is now battling to escape possible trials after being indicted by the Report of House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy just as a serving minister in President Goodluck’s Jonathan administration, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah is under pressure to resign from the cabinet following the indictment of her oil firm by the committee.
“Daily Post” gathered from competent sources that Oduah who is the Federal Minister for Aviation is a major shareholder of one of the indicted oil companies, Sea Petroleum and Gas Company Limited [SPG] which jointly collected a whooping sum of N230,184 billion on Premium Motor Spirit [PMS] volume of 3,262,960225, liters but which was not supplied SPG, sources said was registered on May 3rd, 1998 “to carry on the business of licensed bunkering of petroleum and other mineral oil in all its branches”. SPG’s registration number is 221250 while it has three other Directors apart from Stella Oduah, Erotomi Buwa and Elizabeth Stewart.
Sources at the Corporate Affairs Commission [CAC] further disclosed that Oduah owns 1,999,000,000 out of the two billion shares are being held by the three other directors.
Also, the former Head of State, Genera Abubakar [Rtd] who is the major shareholder in Maizube Petroleum Limited is indicted with the report.
Abubakar holds 600,000 shares in the company registered in 2003 with a one million share capital. Maizube has two other Directors namely Abubakar Isah and Abubakar Aminu.
It was gathered that the leadership of the House of Representatives is desperately pushing for the implementation of the committee report and has allegedly sent copies of the report to the presidency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC], Police and State Security Services [SSS]..
However, it was further gathered that the President is under pressure from his advisers to relieve the Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah of her appointment in order to protect the integrity of his administration.
Sources disclosed that Jonathan is worried by the involvement of the minister and influential Nigerians in the Oil subsidy scandals, which according to the sources had brought panic to the President’s mind on how to dismiss the Minister.
The sources added that the indicted Head of State is buzzing all contracts to forestall the implementation of the oil subsidy report; the powerful Nigerians have allegedly reached out to the Presidency pleading that the action be withheld on the committee’s report on the basis that the committee was vindictive and not thorough in its investigation.
Abubakar have also allegedly reached out to friends in the House of Representatives and those from his state and the six geopolitical zones to block the committee’s report at publicizing the report until they find away to obviate their purported indictment.
