Senate To Probe Jonathan, Obasanjo Over Abuja Land Grab

NigeriaTrends.com — The Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory has vowed to probe former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Olusegun Obasanjo, as well as former ministers of the FCT and now governor of Kaduna state, El Rufai, over allegations of Land grabbing in Abuja during their tenures in office; Vanguard NewsPaper reports.

All ministers who served under the aforementioned government officials will also be probed to correct alleged violation of the master plan of the nation’s capital city.

Addressing journalists, yesterday, Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory, Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West), who did not exempt any former Minister of the FCT or President in the proposed probe, said as a government of change, it was prepared to send any one found guilty to Kuje Prison which he said was not far from the Federal Capital City, FCC.

Melaye, while condemning what he described as the bastardization of Abuja Masterplan, however, expressed worry over why former FCT ministers allocated green areas designed for flood drains, city buffers, recreations, urban farming, reserved land and undevelopable areas to themselves and their friends.

The probe may also be extended to former Presidents because by the law establishing the FCT, the President is the governor-general of FCT who appoints a minister to administer the city on his behalf, the Vanguard report says.

Since the inception of the Federal Capital Territory from when it was a ministry to when it became Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, 16 ministers, including the present, Mohammed Bello, had so far been at the helm of affairs of the city.

Obasanjo, Jonathan, and El Rufai

During the former President Obasanjo regime, the ministers were Ibrahim Bunu, PDP, 1999-2001; Mohammed Abba Gana, PDP, 2001-2003; Mallam Nasir el- Rufai, PDP then, now APC, 2003-2007; Dr. Aliyu Modibbo Umar, PDP, 2007- 2008; Senator Muhammadu Adamu Aliero, PDP, then, now APC, 2008-2010 and Senator Bala Mohammed, PDP, 2010-2015.

Before former President Obasanjo’s government, other ministers were Mobolaji Aise- Adeogun, 1976- 1979; John Jatau Kadiya, 1979-1982; Iro Dan Musa, 1982-1983; Senator Haliru Dantoro, 1983-1984; General Mamman Vatsa, 1984- 1985; Hamza Abdullahi, 1986-1989; Gado Nasko, 1989-1993; General Jeremiah Useni, now a serving Senator, 1993-1998 and General Mamman Kontagora, 1998- 1999.

Nigeria trends in Politics, story courtesy Vanguard.