Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has recounted how officials of the Federal Capital Territory Authority, FCTA, issued him fake Certificate of Occupancy, C of O when he was governor of Rivers State.
Wike said some FCTA officials issued three fake C of Os on his plot of land after paying N57 million.
He disclosed this during a meeting with estate developers in Abuja on Tuesday.
The minister decried the rate at which fake C of Os were issued, adding that henceforth, N5 million would be paid to acquire a C of O.
According to Wike: “When I was governor of Rivers State, we had three C of Os from FCT. It turned out that all were fake.
“The C of O was coming from FCTA as a government, not as an individual. The plots allocated or said to be allocated, we paid money.
“When I now sent the Liaison Officer, the people from FCTA took him to the land and later, we discovered that it was fake land. Look at the money we had paid.
“The people disappeared. We could not find them again. Over N57 million that we paid. Why? Because that was how it was being done in the FCT. I have said that it will not work again.”
Meanwhile, it was an emotional moment for students and teachers in Taraba State as the remains of the recently murdered teacher, Bassey Sardauna Nkuphee were laid to rest in Jalingo, the state capital.
It would be recalled that Nkuphee, a teacher with Model Secondary School, Jalingo, was recently stabbed to death by some of his students.
The student’s action compelled the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), to ground academic activities in secondary schools in the state.
Nkuphee who was laid to rest in his family compound in Abuja phase ll in Jalingo metropolis, was said to be heading home from school when the incident happened.
Mourners, especially the slain teacher’s colleagues, tasked security operatives to ensure that the suspects behind the gruesome murder were fished out.
They also urged the government to take responsibility for the welfare of his aged parents, his wife and three children.
The Secretary of the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools, Dr Ishaku Kazon, who observed that the deceased teacher was the breadwinner of his family, urged the relevant authority to extend help to the family members.
Some teachers and students who spoke to our reporter described the deceased as one of the best teachers in the school.