Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike has earnmarked #825m to compensate Jiwa land owners to be used for the second runway Airport project.
The Minister who made this known during a meeting with members of the ministry of aviation and the affected persons, said the move is to resettle the people to pave way for execution of the project.
The Jiwa Community which hosts the runway project had previously staged a protest against evicting them from their ancestral land, thus demanding compensation from Government.
The Federal Executive Council, FEC had in March 2022 approved the construction of the second runway for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport to be commissioned by June 2023.
Wike who said he understood their pains, directed the immediate payment of N825 million as compensation to the affected land owners.
He also said the Ministry of Aviation will provide employment for 12 persons and the FCTA for 10 people of the Jiwa community as part of additional incentives.
The FCT Minister expressed delight that he had been able to resolve the issues amicably and contractors could now move to site.
“We have only one runway. How would you feel if something happens to that runway tomorrow? It means there will be no flights. In a city as big and cosmopolitan as Abuja? the moment the money gets to them, the contractors will no longer delay, as they have to move to the site immediately and commence work. So, the second runway has come to stay.The FCT through the Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA will release the money.The total value is N825.82 million for the compensation and resettlement”.
Earlier, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo said the ministry erred in the past by dabbling into issues, and promised to always uphold the legal rules in the discharge of their duties.
“There is a certain legal schedule by which compensation is paid. We know the implications of not following the provisions of the law. When they say rule of law, it does not apply to government alone. It applies to all.We will perhaps think outside the box about maybe in the area of social responsibility to see how we can get other things for the people alongside what the law stipulates as compensation…It is not the business of Aviation to assess compensation in matters of land in the FCT”.
Executive Secretary of FCDA, Shehu Hadi had earlier clarified that the FCTA has no business offering compensation to occupants of a land, having issued the land to a third party.
“I want to clarify one of the issues raised which is payment of compensation. That is where the FCT perspective on this issue has to be made clear. It is the responsibility of the MDAs to make arrangements for the payment of compensation after we have allocated lands to them”.
Traditional Ruler of the area, the Sarkin Jiwa, Alhaji Idris Musa who explained the frustration of his people, urged the Aviation ministry and the FCTA to review upward the compensation amount from N700,000 so that the people can acquire land in other places.
He said; “We sat with the Aviation and FCT Administration…we have agreed with the consultant that they will pay N2.5m per hectare.
So, at last, the administration said the Aviation had no right to do that, that it is the FCTA that should do it. Then each hectare came to less than N700,000.
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