Protesters early Thursday stormed the National Assembly to denounce what they regard as a plot by land grabbers to black the Minister of the Federal Capital (FCT), Nyesome Wike, in his land administration reforms drive.
Led by the Nigerians Patriotic Forum (NPF), the protest came as a counter reaction to a demonstration on Wednesday by the Network of Civil Societies For Economic Sustainability against Wike that he was undermining the Renewed Hope of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The protesters carried placards with various inscriptions: “Land grabbers are trying to blackmail Wike,” “Wike has been tested and trusted,” “Wike is God sent to Abuja,” “Wike is a detribalised Nigerian,” amongst others.
Speaking with journalists, the Chairman, Nigerians Patriotic Forum, Aliyu Sani, said it was normal for corrupt individuals and land grabbers to sacrifice everything they have acquired to frustrate Wike’s laudable initiative in land administration.
Sani, who passed a vote of confidence in the FCT Minister, stated that the indigenous inhabitants of the nation’s capital were behind him and will resist any attempt to tarnish his hard earned reputation and transformation moves.
“Keen followers of the dynamic leadership of His Excellency Nyesome Wike, are aware of his resolve to ensure that all title owners revalidate their Certificate of Occupancy with new security features, which is the introduction of NIN for individuals and BVN for corporate bodies.
“It is in the public domain that since the coming of Wike as FCT Minister, he has been able to liaise with Corporate Affairs Commission, wherein they uncovered 189 fake companies that have been used to secure the allocation of choice lands in the Federal Capital. This discovery has led to the arrest, detention and ongoing prosecution of two perpetrators of these crimes.
“It is normal for corrupt individuals and land grabbers to sacrifice everything they have acquired to frustrate this laudable initiative. We wouldn’t be surprised if they further reinforce to cause anarchy in the city capital so as to derail this policy.
“The Honourable Minister who inherited the menace of “One Chance” criminality in the FCT, has come up with a workable solution to the problem, which include rolling out Buses and Taxis to be driven by identified and well profiled individuals.
“The political hirelings who raised the weighty allegation that the administration of the FCT Honourable minister lacks accountability failed to give one example, speaking in innuendos.
“The Patriotic Forum wishes to therefore pass a vote of confidence on His Excellency Nyesome Wike for the successes recorded so far. The Abuja original inhabitants are with him, they will stand by him and we are ever ready to come out and counter any protest aimed at tarnishing the hard earned reputation of Wike, thereby dwindling his renewed vigour towards revitalising the nation capital,” he said.
