Adelani Adepegba, Abuja
Residents of Lokogoma district, Abuja on Thursday protested over the death of a former policeman, Kenneth Nwoga who drowned in a flood alongside his two children, Prestige and Winner on August 17, 2017.
The protesters stormed the Federal Capital Territory Minister’s office but were not allowed access as security personnel locked the gates.
Undeterred, they spent about two hours venting their anger at the Federal Capital Territory Administration which they blamed for the tragedy which they said occurred on account of the infrastructure deficit in the district where the deceased lived.
The residents had also written to the minister, alleging that the FCT Administration had abandoned the over 400,000 inhabitants and subscribers to the 15 housing estates promoted by the government in the district.
A leader of the protesters, Imoudu Okpagha, denied that the estates were built on water channel, noting that the district was devoid of any government presence in terms of infrastructure and social amenities.
Okpagha, who is the Chairman, PENGASSAN 1 Estate, Lokogoma, explained that the FCT Administration did not provide police station, health centre, water or market for the teeming population in the district despite collecting various levies, ground rents and taxes from the residents.
“We are not benefitting anything from the government despite paying various levies and taxes to this government. We are law-abiding residents and as such deserve priority attention given to residents of other FCT districts where government presence is adequately felt,” he said.
A resident, Ademola Awosika said beside the three persons that died in the flood, a number of other people had lost their lives to the perennial flooding in the district due to lack of drainages and other infrastructure.
“We have no market, police station, health centre, or access road and yet we are part of the FCT,” he lamented.
The residents in their letter to the minister dated August 21, 2017 demanded provision of roads, model markets, schools and health care facilities.
They also requested him to pay a condolence visit to the family of the deceased and “provide as a matter of urgency, a replacement for the makeshift bridge at the site where the three family members lost their lives.”
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