Mansion in Florida USA, Bulldozers in Abuja: Wike Orders Fresh Demolitions at River Park Estate

Mansion in Florida USA, Bulldozers in Abuja: Wike Orders Fresh Demolitions at River Park Estate

 

 

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has again ordered the demolition of fresh structures at River Park Estate in Abuja, even as questions mount over reports that he recently acquired a $2 million mansion in Florida, United States.

 

During an inspection of the estate over the weekend, Wike accused developers, Paulo Homes, of attempting to fast-track construction in defiance of regulations.

 

He said the Department of Urban Control had been directed to continue pulling down any illegal structures.

 

“What one of them, Paulo Homes, did was overnight, he started to do construction in order to tie the hands of the administration, so we demolished every construction going on,” the minister told reporters.

 

He also alleged that Jonah Capital, a Ghanaian firm entangled in the land dispute, had breached its Development Lease Agreement, insisting that the government’s revocation of its Certificate of Occupancy was justified.

 

Wike stressed that no amount of intimidation or blackmail would deter the FCT administration from enforcing urban regulations.

 

“No amount of blackmail will stop us. You know, people are going to use government to make money. We are saying that everybody should know. We are not saying that people should not make money, but do things in a way that is supposed to be done,” he said.

 

But Wike’s tough stance on regulation has been overshadowed by fresh controversy surrounding his personal finances. Public records in the U.S. indicate that he purchased a waterfront mansion in Florida earlier this year valued at $2 million. Reports allege the property was funded through billions of naira purportedly siphoned from inflated or fictitious public works contracts and laundered abroad.

 

For many Nigerians, the images of bulldozers demolishing homes in Abuja while the minister invests in luxury property overseas reflect what they describe as the deepening disconnect between the country’s political elite and citizens grappling with severe economic hardship.