Natives of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have accused the management of Centenary City of breach of settlement and compensation agreements entered into with the former FCT minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, that the natives be duly compensated and resettled before the commencement of work on the City.
President of Abuja Original Inhabitants Youth Empowerment Organisation (AOIYEO), Commandant Isaac David, who made this known to Blueprint Tuesday at the Centenary City as matter of public importance on behalf of the natives, said they were aware that the management of the Centenary City had concluded arrangements to commence development on the land beginning from March, 2020 without meeting up with the agreements.
David explained that the former FCT minister, Alhaji Bala Mohammed under whose watchful eyes all the agreements were concluded, directed that payments be made to the natives for economic trees and thereafter resettled at the back of the University of Abuja, so that they can reunite with their kith and kin in Kuje area council to preserve their oneness, communality and cultural identity.
“To our surprise, the management of the Centenary City flagrantly violated this provision in the agreement, appropriated the land allocated to these people and forthwith proceeded to development of a resettlement for them at the fringes of the FCT at the border with Nasarawa state.
“This they did without adequate consultation and in violation of the United Nations principle on the right of indigenous people to be properly informed and to obtain their consent. The affected natives are resisting their movement to the settlement developed by Centenary City and are insisting that the original agreement be implemented in full.
“We are of the view that for the minister of the FCT to grant them permission to move to site, they must have fed him with spurious information not in tandem with the original facts of the case and we are therefore requesting for an opportunity to have a meeting to make clarifications and present the grievances of the communities before the issues escalate to hostilities.
“Arising from the above we are requesting that our people be resettled at the back of the Abuja University and not to a nondescript location at the border with Nasarawa state. In the absence of this, we are asking for fresh negotiations to avoid the disruption of their activities by irate youth when they eventually commence development,” he said.
