The Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, on Monday disclosed that nine communities of over 8,000 indigenes would be resettled by the FCT Administration by June 2013, marking a major breakthrough in the resettlement scheme.
Of the 8,000 indigenes, 3,200 are to be resettled with houses and 4,800 are to receive plots of land in Apo in Abuja Municipal Area Council and Galuwyi-Shere in Bwari Area Council.
The minister, who confirmed this in Abuja while reviewing the performance of the resettlement scheme of the Administration, said the three communities of 2,571 households would be resettled in the first quarter of 2013 in the Apo Resettlement Scheme while six communities of 5,172 households would be resettled by the second quarter in Galuwyi-Shere.
She said the three communities to be resettled in the first quarter are Garki, Apo and Akpajenya while Utako, Maje, Jabi Yakubu, Jabi Samuel, Zhilu and Kpaadna communities are to be resettled in the second quarter.
Akinjide said: “The FCT Administration is committed towards resolving the lingering resettlement crisis.
“Part of efforts to resolve the crisis was the inauguration of a Ministerial Committee on Facts Finding and the Way Forward on Apo Resettlement Scheme.
“This has given the original inhabitants confidence and hope of amicable resolution of the crisis which had lingered over the years.
“The Committee has made some useful recommendations to the Administration towards peaceful resolution of the issues militating against the resettlement scheme.
“Consequently, about 2,571 households are to move from Garki, Apo and Akpajenya to Apo Resettlement Town in the first quarter of 2013.”
The minister disclosed that engineering infrastructure works are ongoing in the Phase 2 of Apo Resettlement Scheme and Galuwyi-Shere.
It will be recalled that the Ministerial Committee on Facts Finding and the Way Forward on Apo Resettlement Scheme had recommended the capturing of resettlement and compensation of the original inhabitants of the FCT in the National Priority Budget of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The Committee, in its report presented to the FCT Minister of State on December 13, 2012, explained that the resettlement and compensation of indigenes could not satisfactorily be funded under the FCT Administration’s Statutory Budget.
It stated in the report: “The Committee found out that the issue of resettlement and compensation is the business of the Federal Government. It involves huge capital resources and also constituting security problems within the territory.
“The Committee recommended that the FCT Administration liaise with the Federal Government of Nigeria to include the resettlement and compensation of original inhabitants of the FCT in its National Priority Budget.”
Trending
- Hajj 2024: NAHCON describes Gov. Uzodinma as pillar of support
- TUC wants FG to pay wage award for March, April
- Suspension of Dana Air hasty, punitive — Flight Dispatchers
- Ferry deaths: CILT raises alarm as over 300 die in one year
- Smuggled explosives: Customs hands over 6,240 dynamites to DSS
- Anambra: NSCDC arrests eight illegal private guards, recovers weapons
- Health Workers Week: Stakeholders suggest way out of declining workforce
- Review of: ‘Till My Change Comes,’ by Motunrayo Olumakaiye