The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned the planned demolition of illegal structures in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by the minister, Nyesom Wike.
NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, said the plan should not go ahead unless there is alternative shelters for the affected poor.
He said that the FCT administration should legalise those structures and provide affordable housing for the poor.
Wike had vowed to demolish all illegal buildings and structures in the FCT as part of efforts to restore the Abuja Master Plan.
He also threatened to revoke lands that were allocated but not developed and reclaim uncompleted buildings that had become a safe haven for criminals.
However, Ajaero said that the NLC was not against the restoration of the Abuja Master Plan, but that the government should not use it as an excuse to displace the poor.
He said that the government should provide affordable housing for the poor so that they can live in dignity.
The NLC also called on the government to provide jobs for the poor so that they can earn a living and support their families.
Speaking at the symposium with the theme, “Nigerian Economy and the Crisis of Survival : Robbing the Poor to Pay the Rich”, Ajaero said “The new attack by Wike to drive the poor out of Abuja, it’s a war where they tell you that you build in a place that is not part of the master plan, the master plan is only known to them.
“The NLC is saying that those structures are not illegal, those structures should be made legal unless there is alternative to them”.
“There is no area they map out, either quarter plot or half plot for the poor to build in Abuja and when the poor manage to get small shelter, it’s been demolished on daily basis. It is a war against the poor.
“The number of people Adolf Hitler killed under a gas chamber will be a child play for people who will die because of shock over demolition”, Ajaero added.
POLITICS NG
