- The compensation aims to encourage community members to vacate the area, facilitating the progress of the runway project
- The second runway project was originally contracted in 2022 and was slated for a June 2023 commission
The Federal Government has revealed a compensation package of N825.819 million earmarked for residents of the impacted community in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as part of the arrangements to facilitate the construction of the 4.2km second runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the FCTA, disclosed this development on Tuesday, subsequent to a negotiation meeting involving Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, officials from both ministries, agency representatives, and stakeholders from Jiwa, the affected community in Abuja.
The stated sum of N825.8 million, as elucidated by Minister Wike, is intended to serve as an incentive for the community’s residents to relocate, thereby aiding the smooth advancement of the 4.2 km second runway project for Abuja. The runway project had originally been awarded in 2022.
In March 2022, the Federal Executive Council granted approval for the second runway, with the project structured into four phases. The project’s anticipated completion and commissioning was initially set for June 2023.
However, a section of the Jiwa Community, where the runway is situated, protested against their forced displacement from their ancestral lands, asserting their right to compensation from the government.
During a conflict resolution meeting held with community members and other involved parties on Tuesday, Minister Wike conveyed his empathy for their concerns and committed to doing everything within his capacity to secure their rightful compensation.
As a result, he issued a directive for the immediate disbursement of N825 million in compensation to the landowners affected by the project.
Speaking on the resolutions of the meeting, Wike said; “We have been able to resolve amicably with the community, and contractors will now move to site. As part of the incentives to the community, 12 immediate employment from the Ministry of Aviation and its agencies as the case maybe, and 10 from the Federal Capital Territory Administration for the Jiwa community. We are going to construct Tunga Madaki Bridge, which we will put in the 2024 budget, with a 5km road. We are going to provide a modern healthcare facility for the community.
“The Permanent Secretaries from the Ministry of Aviation and that of the FCTA, His Royal Highness (the Sarkin Jiwa), AMAC Chairman, and the Commissioner, Public Complaints Commission (FCT) will sign the agreement reached between government and Jiwa Community, and if that is done today, by tomorrow or next, the moment the money gets to them, the contractors will no longer delay, as they have to move to the site immediately and commence work. So, the second runway has come to stay.
“I know how you are feeling. I am from a community where the government has taken virtually all our land for development. So, if there is anything that should be done to make you happy, I will carry it on my head. But the truth remains that what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong. If the Aviation ministry them had concerned themselves with the runway project alone, we wouldn’t have found ourselves here but they came to usurp the job of the FCTA.
“We have only one runway. How would you feel if something happens to that runway tomorrow? It means there will be no flights. In a city as big and cosmopolitan as Abuja?”, He queried.
Earlier, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo SAN said the ministry erred in the past by dabbling into issues outside its remit.
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