N110bn conserved under my leadership as FCT minister- Wike, says

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, asserts that in just three months, he has saved the government N110 billion.

He made this announcement and expressed his dissatisfaction with the rate at which fraudulent Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) were being issued during a high-level meeting with an estate developer in Abuja.

Wike ordered N5 million to be paid during the meeting in order to receive a C of O.

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He said he will ask President Bola Tinubu’s approval before adding a National Identity Number (NIN) to every C of O that his administration issues.

Since taking office three months ago, I have set aside N110 billion for FCTA. It will no longer be permitted to assign [one] plot of land to three or more people. You can conduct business thanks to C of O.

Some will be happy when we make the right choice, and some won’t. For such a battle, we are prepared.

“3 C of Os were granted to us by FCT on my land when I was the governor of Rivers State. We later found out that the C of Os were phoney after paying N57 million for the lands.

“I’ll ask the president for approval before connecting any C of O to the NIN. The wealthy men will fight against it, but we must do anything that would benefit our people.

“Approve this action. You will confirm that modifications have occurred. How will it make you feel if, in the end, you only have a phoney C of O? Some people haven’t paid in the last ten years, so the five million dollars seems substantial to them now, the speaker stated.

Wike underlined that the practise of allocating the same plot of land to three or more individuals with a fictitious C of O will no longer be accepted.

He revealed how, while serving as governor of Rivers State, he received a forged Certificate of Origin from certain FCTA personnel. He also took issue with CTA and FCDA employees receiving a monthly salary of N8.9 billion.

During the discussion, the developers urged the minister to lower the N5 million payment needed for the certificate of origin.