Abuja indigenes caution groups against politicising demands

In a statement signed by OIDA’s Media Adviser, Sumner Shagari Sambo, the group said, “certain policies and mega projects of the present FCT administration like Land swap, Centenary City project and many others are all aimed at short-changing Abuja natives. We see no reason why some unknown groups will claim that our people have benefitted from such elitist policies that do not even benefit ordinary Nigerians resident in Abuja.
“Abuja indigenous people remain cheated without proper resettlement and compensation for their seized lands as enshrined in Section 44 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). Hence, OIDA’s rejection of such policies as Land swap, which in our view, debases the humanity of the original inhabitants whose lands continue to be illegally taken away for over 38 years now by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“While we appreciate some modest developments achieved in the areas of transportation, water supply and revival of the Satellite Towns Development Agency (STDA) by the Senator Bala-led FCTA, we however believe he could have done more given the huge resources at his disposal.
Why has the Nyanya-AYA road remained a nightmare, causing daily, untold hardship to Nigerians and natives, when it took former minister El-Rufai less than three years to expand the same road and build two overhead bridges in Karu and Nyanya? Why is the Karshi-Apo new road taking forever to be completed?” said the statement.
OIDA however cautioned the groups not to turn FCT natives into a laughing stock before other Nigerians, adding that they will resist all attempts to trivialise or introduce divide-and-rule politics into the struggle for the liberation of Abuja’s indigenous people.