Wike Orders Demolition of Maitama Houses Blocking Abuja Waterways

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has ordered the immediate demolition of houses and other structures built on designated water channels in Maitama and other parts of Abuja affected by flooding.

Wike gave the directive on Tuesday after visiting areas affected by the recent flooding in Maitama, where he inspected drainage systems and waterways blamed for worsening the impact of heavy rainfall.

The minister directed the FCT Development Control Department to begin removing structures found to be obstructing water channels and complete the exercise within the week. He said the enforcement would not be suspended because of political activities or the position and influence of the owners of the affected properties.

According to Wike, the government would treat every property found to have been built on a designated waterway in the same manner, regardless of whether the owner is a public official, politician or wealthy individual.

He said inspections carried out by FCT authorities showed that some property owners had blocked routes reserved in the Abuja Master Plan for the movement of stormwater. The obstruction, he said, had contributed to the flooding experienced in parts of the capital.

Wike said many of the affected buildings had existed for several years and were owned by wealthy Nigerians rather than people living in poor communities. He maintained that the age of a structure would not prevent the government from enforcing planning regulations where the building was found to be illegally located.

The minister also said the recent flooding had exposed several problems linked to human activities in Abuja. Among them were the construction of buildings on waterways, blocked drainage systems, improper waste disposal and poor maintenance of drainage infrastructure.

He said some drainage channels had not been properly cleared or desilted, reducing their ability to carry large volumes of rainwater. As a result, heavy rainfall could quickly overwhelm the drainage network and cause water to spread into residential areas and roads.

Wike therefore instructed the relevant FCT authorities to begin immediate desilting of drainage channels identified during the inspection. He also called on residents, traders and other people in the city to stop throwing refuse into drains, warning that such actions could further obstruct the movement of water during heavy rainfall.

The minister said the government was also looking into developments that had taken place in areas reserved for environmental purposes. He said green areas and other spaces protected under Abuja’s planning framework would be preserved and that illegal conversion of such locations would not be allowed to continue.

Wike said the flooding should not be viewed only as a result of heavy rainfall or climate change. While acknowledging that changing weather patterns had contributed to unusual rainfall in Abuja and other parts of the world, he said human activities had also made the situation worse.

He pointed to the development of buildings along waterways, construction in areas not approved for development, blocked drainage systems and poor waste management as factors that could turn heavy rainfall into a major flooding problem.

The minister said flooding had affected several major cities around the world and should therefore not be treated as a problem unique to Abuja. However, he maintained that the government had a duty to reduce the impact of flooding by correcting planning and environmental problems within its control.

He also blamed past failures to enforce development rules for some of the problems now facing the capital. According to him, some structures that should not have been approved were allowed to remain for years, while officials responsible for monitoring developments may not have acted when necessary.

Wike said the current administration was prepared to enforce the city’s planning laws and would not allow political considerations or the influence of property owners to prevent action against illegal structures.

He directed the Development Control Department not to delay the demolition of buildings confirmed to be obstructing waterways. The minister said officials responsible for carrying out the enforcement would be expected to act promptly.

The minister also rejected claims that the planned demolitions were being driven by political interests ahead of elections. He said the administration would continue to address problems in Abuja regardless of the political environment and would not allow political arguments to prevent it from enforcing development regulations.

Wike said the flooding had provided an opportunity for the government to identify areas where water channels had been blocked and take corrective action. He maintained that structures built in the wrong locations could not be allowed to remain simply because they had existed for many years.

He further defended the performance of the FCT Administration over the past three years, saying the government had addressed several major challenges in the territory while recognising that many other problems remained.

The minister also pointed to the number of Certificates of Occupancy processed under the administration. He said 26,272 Certificates of Occupancy had been signed within three years, compared with about 7,000 issued by two previous administrations over a period of 13 years.

Wike argued that the administration’s overall record should be assessed based on its work across the FCT rather than on the basis of the recent flooding alone. He said the government had not claimed to have solved every problem in Abuja but would continue working on areas requiring attention.

He said the administration would maintain its efforts to improve infrastructure, enforce planning laws and protect areas reserved under the city’s development plan.

The minister urged residents to report problems affecting their communities and said the government would continue to respond to genuine concerns brought to its attention.

He maintained that the FCT Administration would proceed with the removal of buildings found to be obstructing waterways and would continue enforcing planning regulations across Abuja, regardless of the status of the property owners or how long the structures had been in place.