The House of Representatives, on Thursday, resolved to investigate the alleged fraudulent allocation of title documents to some real estate developers before the appointment of Nyesom Wike as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved by the member representing Karu/Keffi/Kokona Federal Constituency of Nasarawa State, Mr Jonathan Gbefwi.
Moving the motion, Gbefwi, a member of the Social Democratic Party, noted that before the appointment of Wike by President Bola Tinubu in August 2023, several titled land documents in the FCT were issued to some real estate developers “in a highly suspicious manner.”
The immediate past Minister of the FCT, Mohammed Bello, left office on May 28, 2023, following the expiration of the tenure of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
The new ministers of the FCT were allocated portfolios and assumed office in August 2023.
Gbefwi, speaking on the motion, said, “The House wonders if the Director of Lands or any official of the Federal Capital Territory Development Administration who issued the Right of Occupancy, purportedly in the name of the Minister of FCT at the period when the office of the minister was vacant, have the legal right or authority to do so.
“The House is concerned that some of the lands affected were subject to litigations which were yet to be resolved.
“We are disturbed that some of the beneficiaries of these alleged fraudulent allocations are already using them to forcibly grab disputed land which is a recipe for conflicts.
“We are convinced that if the title document of any land is fraudulently issued or procured, whatever is built on it should not stand in the interest of the public.”
Following the resolution of the House, the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, who presided over plenary in the absence of the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, directed the Committee on FCT to “investigate all allocations of land in the name of the Minister of FCT, Abuja, given from January to August 2023.”
The House also resolved that all such lands which are subject to litigation or multiple allocations should be identified and their allocation withdrawn by the minister, pending the resolution of the matter.
The committee is expected to report back to the House in four weeks.