News
‘Let Heaven Fall,’ Wike Vows To Continue Demolitions In FCT
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike has defended the demolition of properties in the nation’s seat of power, saying he won’t be swayed by blackmail.
Wike said the structures being demolished by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) are properties illegally built on government lands.
“Let me use this opportunity to tell Nigerians and residents of Abuja, we are not afraid of blackmailing,” the minister said during the distribution of operational vehicles to security agencies at the FCTA Secretariat in Abuja on Thursday.
“In fact, you cannot be in this kind of position and say you cannot be blackmailed particularly as regards this Abuja.
There are so many land grabbers. Some of us have come to put our feet down. Let heaven fall.
It is even better that heaven comes down now so that we would not be fasting again to go to heaven.”
In recent months, the FCTA has intensified the demolition of what it deemed as illegal structures in estates and shanties in Abuja.
According to Wike, while some of the structures pose security risks, the rest were built on lands belonging to the government.
The move has triggered a backlash and protests but Wike has insisted there is no going back and vowed to go after more illegally constructed buildings and shanties.
“We would stop anybody who thinks they will take government land for whatever reason with formal approval.
We would not look at your face. If you like be a civil rights activist or a television personality,” Wike, the immediate past governor of Rivers State, said during the event.
“What is wrong is wrong; no amount of blackmail can stop us. People take government property without approval or documentation.
”Wike’s comment came on the same day that the Senate ordered a probe into the demolitions in the FCT, setting up a committee to look into the development.
The Senate’s move followed a motion sponsored by the Senator representing FCT Ireti Kingibe who raised concerns over the demolitions and called for an order to stop them.
It also set up an investigative committee – headed by the Deputy Senate Jibrin Barau – to probe the demolitions.
The group is expected to also invite Wike to the Senate so he can explain the reasons for the demolitions in the nation’s capital.
News
Marwa To Serve As NDLEA Chairman Until 2031- Tinubu
Marwa, first appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021, previously chaired the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse from 2018 to 2020.
•Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd)
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday renewed the reappointment of Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) as Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for another five-year term.
Marwa, first appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021, previously chaired the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse from 2018 to 2020.
His renewed tenure will see him lead the NDLEA until 2031.
A former military governor of Lagos and Borno States, Marwa is an alumnus of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). Commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973.
He has held several strategic positions, including brigade major of the 23 Armoured Brigade; Aide-de-Camp to then Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Theophilus Danjuma; academic registrar of the NDA; Deputy Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, D.C.; and Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
The Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) has issued a final mobilization directive to all its chapters nationwide, signaling readiness for an indefinite strike as its 21-day ultimatum to state governors expired today, Friday November 14.
The looming action which threatens to paralyze legislative operations across all State Houses of Assembly follows a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Bauchi State where it resolved to give State Governments a 21-day deadline, effective from October 24, to begin implementing the Consolidated Legislative Salary Structure (CONLESS) and financial autonomy for State Legislatures, as enshrined in Section 121(3) of the Nigerian Constitution (as amended).
In an official directive on Friday, the National Secretariat of the Union express disappointment that despite “ample window for compliance, reports from the states indicate that most State Governments are yet to begin the implementation as directed.
PASAN, therefore, instructed its zonal leaders to prepare for full-scale action.
The directive ordered all National Vice Presidents to “immediately mobilize all Chapters within their respective zones for industrial action as soon as the ultimatum elapses.
This action is to ensure full enforcement of the NEC resolution and to press home demand for the implementation of CONLESS without further delay.
The Union has formally notified the National Assembly leadership of the expiration of the ultimatum and its readiness for strike.
Reports are coming in of multiple accidents which occurred on Thursday evening, November 13th on the Karu Bridge in Abuja.
Details of the accident are still emerging, but a video posted on X, shows cars in flames while eyewitnesses calls for fire fighters to put out the engulfing inferno.
Authorities are likely on the scene, and further information will be provided as it becomes available.
Motorists are advised to exercise extreme caution when approaching the area and to consider alternative routes if possible.
Video ccredit.
Marwa To Serve As NDLEA Chairman Until 2031- Tinubu
CAF announces free e-visas for fans attending AFCON Morocco 2025
PDP Ibadan Convention : Amotekun, DSS and Police Beefup Securiy
Tech Expert, Zuckerberg trains with UFC champions, Adesanya, Alexander
Organ Trafficking: Ekweremadu bags 10 years in UK prison
SAINT OBI: Between his marriage and his death
-
News2 days agoWike in heated clash with naval officers over Abuja land (Videos & Photos)
-
Politics3 days agoSoludo, Deputy receive certificate of returns from INEC
-
News3 days agoEditors Conference Kicks Off in Abuja
-
News2 days agoWorld Bank Scores Nigeria’s Poverty Reduction Programmes as Inefficient
-
News3 days agoPresident Tinubu to Open All Nigerian Editors Conference Tomorrow
-
News1 day agoNduka Obaigbena to Launch Leekeeleekee, A New Media Platform in January
-
Business2 days agoUBA commits $102m direct investments in Chad’s securities
-
News1 day agoLagos govt clears beggars, street occupants along Ketu-Alapere corridor