Ex President Jonathan ... powerful minister in last government named in Nigerian land grab

 Jonathan, Alison-Madueke named in Abuja land grab

The Nigerian Senate is exploring means of invoking sanctions against the former President Goodluck Jonathan and some former ministers for allegedly appropriating reserved plots of land in e high brow Maitama district of the capital city, Abuja,  during the last days of the Jonathan government.

These were plots  designated as public domain, green areas, flood drains, city buffers, recreation centres, sewage lines, urban farming and city monuments by the city planners.


 Former president Jonathan named in land grab sceme



The Chairman of the Committee, Sen Dino Melaye, described the action of Jonathan and his ministers as “satanic”, while blaming the former Minister of the FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed, for falling asleep at the wheel...  
 
“Senator Bala Mohammed, in his bid to satisfy some powerful Nigerians before the end of his tenure, disregarded the wisdom of his predecessors and the vision of the founding fathers of Abuja."

Beneficiaries include Jonathan and a list of his cabinet,  Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke , Justice Minister Mohammed Adoke, Trade and Investment Minister Olusegun Aganga, Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus and FCT Executive Director Ismaila Adamu.

 
Embatteled former  Petroleum Minister Dezani Allison-Madueke  She has been accused along with other minsters from the Jonathan Government
 
Some of the beneficiaries have started erecting structures on the hurriedly allocated plots, as Certificates of Occupancy were fast tracked.

Melaye said of the former Federal Capital minister, “He went ahead to implement Messrs Fola Consult Limited’s recommendation by allocating these important features and endowments, including the Maitama Hills, to these powerful Nigerians."
“It is pathetic to state that one of the allottees has erroneously burst a sewage conduit pipe and the entire area messed up with offensive odour which could trigger off serious epidemic within that location.”.
 
The senate committee said it plans to put a Stop Work Order on the various construction sites on the plots, while charging the beneficiaries  with  replacing all  trees felled during construction.
 
Mohammmed however reponded to the charges brought by the commitee, accusing the committee of being misinformed on the plot allocations. The former Minister said he never acted outside the limits of his powers since the capital city' Master Plan had never been inviolable.

Mohammed said, the Abuja Master Plan is a dynamic road map for the city’s land use and infrastructure development, guided by the demands of change and time.