Indigenous youths of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), under the auspices of Joint Youth Indigenous Communities of Apo Resettlement Site have given the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) a 14-day ultimatum to revoke all commercial plots in the Apo Resettlement area meant for indigenes, failing which it would be met with unpleasant actions.
The ultimatum was handed down at a press briefing in Abuja.
Representative of the youth, Christopher Zaka, said the decision by the indigenous youth to take alternative actions against the FCDA was borne out of the failure of FCT administration to settle the plight of resettled indigenes, most of who had come up with various claims and allegations of maltreatment against the administration, in the resettlement exercise.
Zaka stated that the youth were also calling for the revocation of parks, gardens and all allocation of plots to other individuals other than affected communities which are Akpanjenya, Apo and Garki Villages as the site was set aside for their resettlement, just as they called for the release of all the allocations of those who were omitted in the first allocation in the resettlement area.
“We are also demanding for the cash payment for crops, economic trees and replacement of farm lands to all the farmers and also for the payment to appease and relocate ancestral deities and shrines to all the indigenous land owners.? In our demands, we are also asking for a scheme of skill acquisition for our young men and women and that the FCT authority should set up a dialogue mechanism between the affected communities and the FCTA.
“Our leaders have always prevailed on us to be patient as they look into our complains and we were made to believe that the land were taken to resettle the three communities, but to our dismay the department of resettlement and compensation is only enriching its staff and others, leaving us the affected people stagnant.?
Speaking further, the youth leader said, “They have not only taken our farm lands, but our crops and economic trees have all been destroyed, as well as our shrines and deities desecrated.? The consequences are that strange diseases and unnatural deaths have become common in our communities.? These made us the youths to peacefully mobilise ourselves against the injustice mated to us.
“We are advising the general public especially those with R of Os allocation to steer clear of Apo resettlement site until all issues and contentions are resolved, anyone who fails to comply will face the wrath of the youth.”
Also speaking at the briefing, Lazarus Nyaholo, a representatives of the three communities in the Committee of Resettlement said that the present Apo resettlement site which was originally meant for resettling indigenes was being allocated by the FCDA to non-indigenes who were not in the resettlement list, while the original indigenes were given plots of land where there were no infrastructure, while some indigenes were not given any plot of land at all for resettlement.
“For the past 36 years, there has never been any time you hear of violence from us, even when this marginalisation started. But you see sometimes, when you are pushed to the wall, you will have to struggle and fight out, whatever form you employ to defend yourself depends on the circumstances at that particular time, we have spoken and we wait for the steps the FCDA will take to settle this issue,” he said.