‘To the woman who was crying, if she likes, let her call God to come down. What is my business?.
Those were the words of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to an Abuja pastor, Rev Serah Omaku pleading for the sparing of the Jabi Lake recreation park by the FCT administration.
The Eagle reports that the Senior Pastor of Family Worship Centre, kneeling and begging for the park to be spared in the following words:
“I cannot fight the minister of the FCT. I cannot.
“But I go on my knees as a mother in this land that Jabi Lake Recreation Centre should not be given to anybody.
“That is where people go for exercise. That is where people sell.
“That is where people meet and hobnob and get married.
“That is where people go to watch games. That is where young people go to.
“I beg you, Mr Minister, in the name of God, as a mother, to not sell that land to anybody,” she said.
Reacting during a media chat in Abuja today, Wike declared his resoluteness to go ahead of plans to remove anything on his way.
“You talk about the woman kneeling down and begging.
“I’m not carried away by such emotions. Begging to do what?
“Who owns Jabi Lake? How does it become your own?
“First of all, I came on board; that place was given to a company that said they wanted to turn it into an entertainment place, but they have turned it into shanties.
“One of these days I went there and said, ‘This can’t be; there is a hotel, and who would come to stay in that hotel when there are shanties all over?’ You don’t know if there are criminals.”
“You cannot allocate land and leave it for that long with nothing to show. We revoked it. Now we want to give it to people who are ready to develop it.
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“We will reallocate the land with clear conditions. If there is no development within the specified time, we will take it back.
“To the woman who was crying, if she likes, let her call God to come down. What is my business?
“How does Jabi become hers? Is it an individual or government property?
“We are trying to make sure investors develop this land for the interest of all of us.”
Asserting that lands that had been allocated for high-end developments had remained undeveloped for over a decade and had since deteriorated into makeshift settlements, the FCT minister added:
“You must sign to develop within a given period. If you fail, the land returns to government. It is as simple as that.
“We are not taking anything from the public. We are reclaiming land from those who failed to do what they were supposed to do or who converted it to unauthorised uses”, he also submitted.
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