On Tuesday, a video circulated online showing Wike, minister
of the federal capital territory (FCT), in a heated exchange with A.M Yerima, a
naval officer, at a site in the Gaduwa district of Abuja.

The land, identified as plot 1946, is linked to Awwal Gambo,
a former chief of naval staff, who allegedly commenced construction on the site
despite an FCTA directive halting work due to the alleged absence of valid
documentation.

Speaking with journalists on Thursday, Mukhtar Galadima,
director of development control at FCTA, explained how Wike became involved in
the matter.

Galadima said on October 17, staff of the department of
development control, while on routine monitoring of developments across the
nation’s capital, discovered a construction within the Southern Parkway
corridor.

He said when officials requested approval documents, they
were met with “stiff resistance” and “threats to shoot “from navy personnel on
the site.

Galadima said the military officers claimed all their
approvals were with their lawyers and engineers, but the only document
eventually produced was a 2007 letter of intent issued by the department of
parks and recreation — not a formal development approval.

Galadima said FCTA officials returned to the site on Monday,
where they met Yerima and again appealed to him to produce the approval
documents, insisting that what they had was a letter of intent.

Galadima said during the discussion, a lawyer representing
the former naval chief arrived and insisted they had approval for the
construction.

“I explained that there is a clear difference between
submission and approval, and it is illegal within the prohibitions of the FCT
Act of 1976 and the Urban and Regional Planning Law of 1992 to commence
development in the federal capital territory without approval,” he said.

Galadima said he, subsequently, sent a distress call to the
Wike because of the presence of armed military officers at the site, which
ultimately led to the public confrontation.

“And on getting there, that ugly incident happened, which I
am really sorry to the honourable minister for,” he said.

“I want to sincerely apologise to the honourable minister
for dragging him into this situation on that fateful Tuesday.”

Chijioke Nwankwoeze, director of lands administration, said
the claimants were relying on an 18-year-old letter of intent from the
department of parks and recreation, which only permitted them to manage and
operate a designated park site and did not confer any legal right of occupancy
or approval to construct on the land.

“I wish to make it clear that in the FCT, the only thing
that gives you title to land is the statutory right of occupancy. Letter of
intent is not a title,” Nwankwoeze said.

“Since he had not submitted a detailed technical proposal,
no lease agreement was given to him. He did not develop and complete
development on the site within one year, as he didn’t build anything by 2008.

“Beyond not having title, in Abuja, you cannot build
anything without approval of the plans you submitted because the department of
development control will look at your design proposal and certify and ascertain
that what you propose to develop is in line with the dictates of the master
plan.”

Nwankwoeze added that the construction on the site is done
illegally.