Muslim Community To Abuja Minister:

Don’t Demolish Wuye's only Mosques

Rasa - The Muslim community in the sprawling Wuye District of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has made a passionate appeal to the federal government to have a rethink on the planned demolition of the only two existing mosques in the area.

News ID: 1447

Date: 21 October 2014 - 09:04

RNA - According to the Nigerian-based Leadership Newspaper, chairman of the Muslim community, Alhaji Abdulrasheed Oyetunji said at a media briefing in Abuja yesterday that officials of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) had written them a letter of notification on the impending demolition.

While acknowledging that the FCT minister Senator Bala Muhammad had actually approved that a parcel of land be given to the community to build their house of worship, he, however, lamented that certain interests were still preventing the actualisation of the project.

Alhaji Oyetunji said: “While we appeal to the federal government, especially through the FCT minister, to kindly suspend the planned demolition pending the resolution of issues hindering the building of the new mosques on the land approved for the project.

“As a Muslim community, we have ensured peaceful coexistence in Wuye District through propagation of religious tolerance, mutual respect and also sustaining mutual relationship with security agencies."

“If the two mosques are demolished, we will have nowhere to pray as congregating outside the designated places of worship may create suspicion from security agencies, especially in this volatile period." he added.

The community also appealed to good-spirited individuals and groups to support them with donation towards the construction of central mosque in Wuye district.

Meanwhile, our reporter has discovered that some unscrupulous officials of the FCDA had allegedly distorted the master plan of the area by allocating portions of land meant for places of worship and schools to private individuals who then converted such plots into commercial uses.

One such glaring distortion has now led to the redesigning of the entire master plan because it encroached on a major road in the district.

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