November 20, 2021

The Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), has maintained that contrary to publications in some sections of the media, neither its Executive Secretary, Mr. Abdullahi Kuyanbana nor any of its management staff has been named in any corruption allegation.

Head, Public Relations of the FCDA, Mr. Richard A. Nduul, stated this in Abuja while reacting to some newspaper reports arising from the ongoing investigation of the Real Estate Sector in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee, headed by Hon. Blessing Onuh.

In a statement issued in Abuja at the weekend, Mr. Nduul said the reports referred to appeared on some Newspapers of November 17, 2021 with such captions as “Reps’ Committee to Subpoena FCDA Officials over Real Estate Fraud” and “House Committee Summons FCDA Executive Secretary over Corruption Allegations.”

According to the statement, the crux of the matter, quoting the Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Hon. Blessing Onuh was the alleged “failure of some of the heads of agencies in the FCT to honour an invitation to appear before the Committee” for which the Committee was holding the Executive Secretary of the FCDA responsible.

Associated with the summon is the allegation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) that “Officials of the FCDA connive with members of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) to swindle beneficiaries of the Mass Housing Scheme in Abuja.”

Mr. Nduul however explained that on the contrary, “Mr. Abdullahi Kuyanbana’s summon is simply based on the facts that he led the FCT delegation to the Investigation hearing.”

Continuing, he said, “it should further be noted that even though Decree 6 of 1976 created the FCDA and charged it with Planning, Development and Administration of the Federal Capital City (FCC) as a whole, the Dissolution Order NO.1 of 2004 approved the creation of Mandate Secretariats as well as Agencies to take over some of the functions of the Authority, while limiting the FCDA to the development of physical Infrastructure of the FCT.”

“To that extent, the FCDA cannot be liable for the actions or inactions of independent agencies, as it were, for which it has no over-sight role whatsoever,” he stated.

He assured the public that whenever the assignment of the Ad-hoc Committee is concluded and there is the need for the FCDA to answer for any breaches, it will be more than willing to do so.

While saying that the intention of the statement was not to join issues with anybody or organization, Mr. Nduul however explained that the FCDA owed it a duty to the public to explain or throw light on some misconceptions in the public domain as a result of the newspaper publications “so as not to give the impression that the Authority’s silence is an acceptance that it is guilty as charged even before the Ad-hoc Committee concludes its assignment.”