FCT Lands Saga: Reps Hit Back At Wike’s Man

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions has invited Chijioke Nwankwoeze, director of Lands in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja to appear before it Thursday to answer charges bordering on alleged corrupt practices and gross abuse of office.

The invitation was based on a petition by centre for social justice, equity and transparency to the House alleging that Nwankwoeze owns and runs several private offices.

The invitation is coming after Mr Nwankwoeze and his office named Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and other prominent Nigerians as owing for lands allocated to them by the FCT.

Relying on sections 88 and 89 of the constitution of the country, the committee warned that should the respondent fail to appear in person, the committee will go ahead with the hearing.

” Ours is to give every Nigerian right to fair hearing, whether you are the petitioner or the respondent. We strive to give justice to those deserving of it based on facts presented to the committee”, says Mike Etaba, Chairman of the Committee.

GWG.ng reports that the invitation followed the public naming of Speaker Tajudeen Abbas as one of the high profile Nigerians allocated land who refused to pay for the lands.

The FCT Administration had consequently gone ahead to revoke the land titles.

Speaker Abbas, however, denied the narrative last December saying that he paid for his allocation after his name was published in October 2024.

“For the record, His Excellency, Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D, GCON, has only one land allocated to him in the FCT, and has since settled his outstanding payment in October 2024, following the FCTA’s newspapers’ publications to that effect,” Musa Krishi, Special Adviser to the speaker said last December.

“It is, therefore, an error for the FCTA to include his name among those having outstanding payments, leading to the revocation of the land titles. The FCTA is advised to be more circumspect in handling such issues.”

While many lauded the courage of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike in calling out the high profile Nigerians indebted to the government, there were insinuations that he and his officials would suffer the collateral damages.

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