Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has ordered the immediate demolition of structures built on designated water channels across Abuja, warning that no property owner will be spared, regardless of political influence or status.

Wike, speaking against the backdrop of recent flooding in parts of the Federal Capital Territory, said the demolition exercise would begin immediately and continue throughout the week.

“I am going to bring those houses down. Any house that is found on the water channel will go down,” he declared. The minister also warned officials of the FCT Development Control Department against delaying or frustrating the exercise, saying they would have no excuse to shield offenders.

“From today to Saturday, if Development Control delay, let them find any excuse to run away. They cannot,” Wike said. He disclosed that some of the properties affected belong to highly placed Nigerians, including serving senators and other influential individuals.

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“Some of them are senators. Some of them are big men,” he said. Wike said he was prepared for the political backlash that could accompany the demolitions, particularly as political activities intensify ahead of the next election season.

He dismissed anticipated claims that the exercise was politically motivated, insisting that the affected buildings had existed for years and were not recently constructed.

“The next thing you will see, campaign now: ‘Why is he doing this during the period of election?’ Whether there’s election or there’s no election, all those houses will go down,” he said.

The minister argued that enforcing Abuja’s master plan could not be described as political victimisation, noting that many of the structures had stood on designated water channels for years under previous administrations.

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He also stressed that the affected areas were largely occupied by affluent Nigerians rather than low-income residents. “Not a single poor person will live there. Those houses are houses built by well-to-do Nigerians,” Wike said.

On the recent flooding, Wike said unusually heavy rainfall linked to changing weather patterns was only part of the problem, arguing that human activities had significantly worsened the situation.

He identified the blockage of water channels by developers, construction on unauthorised land, failure to properly desilt drainages and indiscriminate dumping of refuse as major contributors to flooding in the capital.

“We are in a climate change era. The kind of rains we have experienced, or we are experiencing now, we have not experienced before. But that is not to say there are no human factors,” he said. Wike also warned against the conversion of designated green areas into parks, describing the practice as another form of land abuse that would no longer be tolerated.

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He rejected arguments based on longstanding informal claims to such land, insisting that past violations would not be allowed to continue simply because they had existed for decades. “Because something was done wrongly many years ago, and then it will not be corrected? No, we will not allow that,” he said.

The FCT minister also highlighted what he described as achievements recorded by his administration over the past three years, including the issuance of 26,000 Certificates of Occupancy.

Wike said the figure was significantly higher than the 7,000 Certificates of Occupancy issued by two previous administrations over a combined 13-year period. He accused critics of using the flooding controversy to undermine those achievements and politicise the situation.

However, Wike commended residents who alerted the FCT administration to genuine flooding concerns, distinguishing them from critics he accused of using the situation for political attacks.

“I appreciate those Nigerians who meant well by calling us to say, ‘Look, you may not have seen this. See what has happened,’” he said. Wike maintained that he would not be deterred by accusations that the demolitions were targeted at political opponents.

“I never created any flood. So, I hope now that we have started to demolish, you won’t cry to say, ‘Oh, it’s against a political opponent.’ No,” he said.