The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has warned the University of Abuja and the Nigeria Police to develop their allocated land or face takeover by his administration. He issued this warning after inspecting an access road to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Academy in Giri District over the weekend. The road lies within the university’s vast property.
Anthony Ogunleye, Director of Press, shared this in a statement. Wike expressed deep concern over the largely undeveloped land given to the University of Abuja, which spans over 10,000 hectares. Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Friday, he called the lack of development unacceptable.
He said, “This tour has also opened our eyes as to the kind of land that the University of Abuja has acquired. It’s not acceptable. You can’t deny development…I don’t know where a university will go and take over 1000 hectares of land; for what purpose. We’ve been to universities; we have gone round to schools. Grabbing of land is not the whole thing. What is important is its development.”
Wike questioned the logic of holding such a huge area for “futuristic purposes.” He stressed that infrastructure matters more than land size.
He added, “Before you know it, they will begin to lease it out to people. It doesn’t make sense. What makes a university is not the large expanse of land. What makes a university is the infrastructure quality. It’s not about land. You can have 20,000 hectares of land, but if the university does not have any infrastructure, what does it help?” The minister argued that quality buildings, not vast land, define a university.
Wike made clear the FCTA’s stance: undeveloped land will be reassigned. He said, “We must stop this idea of just acquiring land for acquiring sake. That is not the essence of it. If they give you land, you develop it. If you don’t develop it, government will take it back and give it to those who want to develop. That is our position.” He also noted the Nigeria Police’s undeveloped land nearby, hoping new roadwork will spur action.
The minister inspected other projects too, like the 15-kilometre Outer Southern Expressway (OSEX) to Wassa, built by China Geo-engineering Corporation (CGC). He praised the progress and quality. Wike said, “We are very happy with what we have seen and the quality of jobs that are being carried out. We believe, to the glory of God, that Mr. President will also be happy when he comes to inaugurate these projects. It is part of what we want to see that promises made are fulfilled or kept. It’s not good to just award a contract and then you abandon it and it becomes an abandoned project.
“This administration of Mr. President does not believe in that. Any contract given must be completed for people to use. So, we are very happy and we commend the contractors for the good job they are doing and we assure them that we will continue to partner with them for the development of Abuja.”
He reaffirmed the FCTA’s commitment to finishing projects on time for the President’s second anniversary.
