House Committee Summons FCDA Executive Secretary over Corruption Allegation

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The House of Representatives Adhoc Committee investigating the real estate sector in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has summoned the Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Mr. Abdullahi Kuyanbana, over the failure of some heads of agencies in the FCT to appear before the committee.

The Chairman of the Adhoc Committee, Hon. Blessing Onuh, stated this yesterday during an investigative hearing where she lamented that the heads of agencies in the FCTA had declined repeated invitations to appear before the committee despite massive corruption allegations against some of them.

The House of Representatives had mandated the committee to ensure that all the complaints by the public against the real estate developers in the FCT are looked into.

Onuh said the House had mandated the committee to conduct an investigation into the operations of real estate developers in the FCT and liaise with stakeholders to create legislation to sanitise the sector and curb sharp practices.

The lawmaker said the committee has resolved to subpoena the FCDA management and real estate development in the federal capital.

Onuh told THISDAY that the officials have questions to answer from the committee on allegations of aiding and abetting real estate fraud in the FCT.

She said: “We have sent invitations to the civil servants to come and clear the air on all these allegations, but as we speak, none of them has honoured the invite.

“As it stands now, we will be left with no other option than to subpoena.”

The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) had accused officials of the FCDA of allegedly conniving with members of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) to swindle beneficiaries of the mass housing scheme in the territory.

The Chairman of ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, had alleged that the Land Department of the FCTA was conniving with REDAN to swindle Nigerians in the territory.

He said his commission had received several petitions and complaints from the real estate sector, off-buyers, developers, bothering on forgery, non-delivery of projects, marketing of fake land, fraudulent allocation, and refusal of the government to pay fair values for acquired land, among others.

Owasanoye said the FCDA has refused to sanitise the real estate sector, even though they know about the sharp practices, “but look the other way.”