….Demands accountability for land-use decisions, planning failures

By Dennis Agbo

Former South-East spokesman for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Denge Josef Onoh, has called for an independent investigation into the recurring flooding in Abuja, saying the controversy between Senator Ireti Kingibe and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, should not overshadow deeper failures in urban planning and land administration.

Onoh said the recent flooding, particularly the heavy rainfall recorded in parts of the Federal Capital Territory, should serve as a wake-up call to the FCT Administration and other institutions responsible for urban planning, development control and environmental management.

He said his position was informed by his experience as a former chairman of the Enugu State Capital Territory Development Authority, ECTDA, where he served two terms.

According to him, Abuja was deliberately designed with drainage corridors, waterways, floodplains, green areas and environmental buffers to control stormwater and reduce the risk of flooding.

He said the rapid expansion of the nation’s capital, coupled with alleged encroachment on environmentally sensitive areas, blocked drainage channels and weak enforcement of planning regulations, required an urgent institutional response.

Onoh said the dispute over whether Wike or Kingibe was right was secondary to the more important question of who approved developments on waterways, floodplains and drainage corridors.

“The argument over whether Wike or Kingibe is right is secondary. The fundamental question Nigerians are asking is: who approved these buildings on waterways, floodplains and drainage corridors, and who allowed them to remain there?

“If the structures are illegal today, they did not appear overnight. Somebody allocated the land, somebody processed the plans, somebody inspected the construction and somebody failed to stop it.

“Demolition is necessary where structures are obstructing waterways, but demolition alone cannot constitute accountability. Nigerians deserve to know how these structures received approval in the first place and whether those responsible will face sanctions,” he said.

Onoh’s comments followed criticism by Kingibe of the FCT Administration over what she described as failures to adequately address warnings about blocked drainage channels and developments on green areas, floodplains and waterways.

Kingibe had argued that the destruction or conversion of areas originally designed to accommodate floodwater had contributed to Abuja’s vulnerability to flooding.

Wike, however, rejected responsibility for the flooding, citing illegal construction on waterways, indiscriminate dumping of refuse and the effects of climate change.

Onoh said both positions deserved consideration but cautioned against reducing the environmental crisis to a political blame game.

He acknowledged that indiscriminate dumping of refuse by residents contributed to blocked drainage channels but said government could not abdicate its responsibility for land administration, building approvals, drainage infrastructure and enforcement.

“Residents who throw refuse into drains must stop. There is no justification for indiscriminate dumping of waste. But government cannot transfer its responsibility for land administration, building approvals, drainage infrastructure and enforcement to ordinary residents.

“Likewise, climate change is a reality. But climate change does not issue building approvals. Climate change does not allocate land on waterways. Climate change does not construct buildings inside drainage corridors.

“Those are human decisions, and where human decisions create avoidable risks, there must be accountability,” he said.

Onoh called on the FCT Administration to commission an independent and comprehensive flood-risk audit of Abuja involving hydrologists, environmental experts, urban planners, engineers and other relevant professionals.

He said the exercise should produce a publicly accessible map identifying major floodplains, waterways, drainage corridors and green areas, as well as locations where developments had obstructed natural water channels.

He also called for a comprehensive review of land allocations and building approvals in flood-prone areas.

“Every approval for development on or around a waterway should be examined. Where an official acted improperly, that official should be held accountable. Where a developer violated planning regulations, the law should take its course.

“Accountability cannot stop at the bulldozer. It must extend to the desk where the approval was signed,” Onoh said.

He urged the FCT Administration to immediately identify and clear major drainage channels and waterways obstructed by illegal structures and refuse.

He also called for an audit of land allocations and building approvals in flood-prone areas, investigation of officials involved in approving developments on waterways and drainage corridors, and protection of Abuja’s remaining green spaces, floodplains and environmental buffers from further encroachment.

Other recommendations included expanding and modernising drainage infrastructure to reflect the capital’s population growth and rapid urbanisation, strengthening waste-management systems and enforcing existing laws against indiscriminate dumping.

Onoh further called for the development of a long-term Abuja Flood Resilience Plan based on scientific flood modelling and climate projections.

He warned that Abuja’s original master plan should not become merely a historical document referenced whenever flooding occurs.

“Abuja was planned as a modern capital. Its environmental and drainage systems were not accidental features. They were part of the city’s design.

“We must therefore ask whether the master plan is still being respected, whether planning institutions have the capacity to enforce it and whether commercial and political pressures have compromised land-use decisions.

“Government must have the courage to investigate itself where necessary. The public interest must come before political convenience,” he said.

Onoh said the flooding crisis raised broader questions about governance, institutional coordination and the capacity of the FCT to manage rapid urban growth and extreme weather events.

“Abuja cannot continue to expand without expanding its drainage and environmental protection systems.

“We cannot destroy the areas meant to receive floodwater and then blame the rain when the water has nowhere else to go. Rainfall may trigger the flood, but poor planning, blocked waterways, indiscriminate construction and weak enforcement can determine the scale of the damage.

“The time has come for Abuja to move from blame to solutions, from demolition to accountability, and from emergency response to proper long-term planning. The people deserve a capital city that is resilient, properly planned and capable of protecting lives and property,” Onoh said.