Demolition Victims To Enjoy Social Housing Scheme

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala
Mohammed,  says the Federal Government is
coming up with a social housing scheme to ameliorate the hardship of those
affected by the demolition in the territory.

Mohammed disclosed this
after a Sallah homage by the Muslim community in the FCT to President
Goodluck Jonathan at the State House.

Vice President Namadi Sambo led the delegation to the
president which included Muslim clerics and faithful, ministers, presidential
aides and some members of the National Assembly.

In an interview with State House correspondents, Mohammed
said that government was not unaware of the hardship the demolition would
cause, but that it was a necessary exercise to rid the capital city of
undesirable elements.

“I will seize this opportunity to say that the demolition
and other social services we are carrying out as an administration is not
something that we like to do but it is something that we have to do with a lot
of pains.

“But I assure them that under President Jonathan, we are
coming up with social housing that will accommodate the needs and aspirations
of every Nigerian, especially those that are affected by the demolition.

“At the end of the day, we will carry out an exercise where
they will be registered. We will be able to provide them with affordable
housing and in a place where they will like.

“What we are doing is to secure the nation, to secure the
capital and to secure the residents including us and we are highly pained,’’ he
declared.

In his message to the residents, the minister said they
should always be their brothers’ keepers while assuring them of government
commitment to their well-being.

Speaking in the same vein, Senator Philip Aduda (PDP-FCT),
said the legislators had not abandoned the affected victims of the demolition
as claimed in some quarters.

He said the National Assembly had been constrainted in
waving into the matter because it was a subject of litigation before a
competent court of law and it would be prejudicial to go into it.

Aduda said they had been discussing with the executive arm
of government to ensure palliative measures for the victims and that the
exercise was not carried out during the rainy season.

“It is not true that we have abandoned them. The issue is
that we are discussing. We have discussed with the minister, we have discussed
with the president and we are coming up with palliatives.

“You see people need to understand that the matter is in
court and as legislators, if matters are in court, we are restrained from going
into such matters and that is why you find out that the various committees that
we have did not go fully into it.

“So, what we are doing is that we are discussing as
representatives of the people.