FCTA owes N200b in resettlement, compensation payments – Minister

Alhaji Bala Mohammed, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, on Thursday said that the territory was indebted to the tune of more than N200 billion as outstanding resettlement and compensation payments.
Mohammed announced this in Abuja at an investigative hearing on the alleged improper allocation and land racketeering by the FCTA.
The hearing was organised by the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on Land Allocation and Racketeering in the FCT.
According to the minister, the FCTA has so far paid more than N4 billion as resettlement and compensation payments to some original inhabitants of the territory.
He explained that the land swap initiative of the administration was initiated to help in addressing the infrastructure deficit in the territory.
Mohammed said the initiative was funded 100 per cent by private investors who were required to make available N350 million for the execution of technical preliminary works.
The minister maintained that the land swap programme was only being implemented in Greenfield districts where no allocation of lands had been made to any person.
He stressed that the allocation of districts to investors was not arbitrarily done as certain parameters were considered before allocating them.
“These parameters include the preference of investors, their technical and financial strengths,” he said.
Bala said that no allocation had been made to any investor yet, as land allocation was based on interim measured works by the developer.
The minister noted that a 100 per cent infrastructure development was envisaged in 2005 for the territory but as at 2013, not more than 30 per cent was achieved.
“Out of the 71 districts planned for the four phases of the Federal Capital City, only 11 were developed,” Bala said.
He said that the FCT required investments in new infrastructure of a minimum of N480 billion per annum for the next five years to meet up the Abuja master plan.
“However, the FCTA has got averagely not more than 10 per cent of the requisite funds in the yearly budget allocation in the last three years,” Bala said.
He said that land allocation in the territory was targeted at providing world class infrastructure for Nigerians.
The Chairman of the committee, Hon. Bimbo Daramola (APC-Ekiti), cautioned the minister to proceed with the initiative without inflicting pains on Nigerians.
Daramola said that the interest of Nigerians was paramount in any initiative being executed by government.