By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
Amid protests by locals at Gishiri village , the FCT Minister, Barr Nysome Wike, has insisted that the demolition of Gishiri village is a must to make way for the construction of Arterial Road N16 at Katampe.
Wike made this clear on Tuesday when he was at Gishiri village to ensure the village was demolished for the construction of the Arterial N16, which passes through Gishiri village.
The locals had protested demolition of their village to make way for construction of road and infrastructural development in the community.
The FCT Minister disclosed that the Administration has made provisions for compensation for the locals whose structures are obstructing of the road, while there have been meetings with the traditional community leaders and their chiefs to foster mutual understanding between the people and government.
He said,” Well, you realize that I have been here for more than four times. We have sat down with the community leaders and their chiefs. I have told them the need for them to cooperate with the government so that the contractor, the CGC, will be able to correct this road and then hand it over by May.”
According to the minister , the Village Head has pleaded for an extension of one week , and money for compensation has been made available to ensure relocation of the locals.
Wike stated that assurances by the administration to the people have fallen on deaf ears, adding that no government would fold its hands and allow people to sabotage the interest of the public.
“So I called them from Milan that I’m going to be personally be here to supervise this demolition. And that’s what I came for, letting them know that it’s no longer going to be business as usual.”
“No. We’ve given them more than two, three months. And nobody, I can’t just fold my hands and say, okay, let it just stop”
“No, we won’t do that. Some would argue that you need to put a human face to it. I don’t know what human is more than what we’ve done.”
The minister disclosed that already compensation has been paid to those whose houses were affected by the demolition, adding that if they refuse to relocate it is their business because work must go on.
