The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has defended his administration’s sweeping land revocations and infrastructure reforms in Abuja, insisting that no investor or interest group will be allowed to derail the Abuja master plan.
Speaking during a media parley in Abuja, Wike lamented that for over two decades, large portions of government-allocated land were left undeveloped by so-called investors, while critical infrastructure funded by taxpayers was left to decay. He said the time had come to correct past failures and enforce accountability in land use.
“For the past 20 years, the government has provided infrastructure for people to come and invest. And I told you that nothing has happened. What you were doing was to consume that,” Wike said. “Who do you call an investor? Where is the money for 20 years? Not one block has been put on land, and you use government land. So that makes you an investor? That is not correct.”
Wike said his ministry had revoked several land allocations that had been left fallow for years despite public infrastructure being extended to them. He noted that these revocations were necessary to stop individuals and companies from profiteering off government assets without adding value to the city or economy.
“Somebody took 500 hectares of land for housing. What is housing? You give me a share of land, not to say if this is not done, the land goes back to government,” he explained. “This is how people have used government to make money. If you see what I do today, I have changed that pattern.”
He also accused some previous public officials of deliberately undermining the Abuja master plan, saying that illegal land allocations were often approved by directors and protected through shady legal settlements.
“The master plan is a document. If you say here is a green area, it is meant to be green. But somebody in government comes in — a director in the ministry, or in the FCDA — plays his game,” Wike said. “Tomorrow, the legal department knows and tells somebody in the legal unit to go and concede to the case. You’re handicapped.”
Addressing the Abuja Technology Village controversy, the minister dismissed claims that land meant for innovation and technology development had been wrongfully revoked, insisting that government had shown good faith by providing infrastructure for over two decades without meaningful development from the beneficiaries.
“I am the minister of the city. Abuja Technology Village is a creation of the city. Nobody is going to cut me out. Who is Abuja Technology Village?” he queried. “For 20 years, nothing happened. What you were doing was to consume the land. Is that the investment you are talking about?”
Wike said the current administration had made it clear that it would not tolerate tokenism in the name of investment, reiterating that economic transformation must be matched with action, not just paperwork.
“You are paying off $50 million a year, but you are not going to let that person do business in a month? That’s not acceptable. When you’re building such a project that will change the face of the city, create employment — look at the benefits,” he said. “Investing a billion dollars in an economy — what benefit will it give you? So many things. Look at the great success of what we did. How the economy will change.”
He also took a swipe at critics who, he said, politicise development projects or hide under legal technicalities to frustrate reforms.
“If this third year is not coming up, the line of government breaks. Absolutely. And we have been crying — not just for me, but for everyone,” Wike said. “Some politicians ask questions: ‘If you don’t do this, then I’ll go back.’ That’s not my business. My business is to do what is right.”
On transparency, the minister said that most of the conflicts around the Abuja master plan were not due to lack of clarity but sabotage by insiders who abuse their offices.
“There is no transparency. Somebody wakes up and signs 500 hectares of land, not by the minister but a director. And when the minister comes, it has already been gazetted,” he said. “Even if you want to stop it, the legal unit has already conceded to the case. How do you fight that?”
Wike vowed to keep pushing for accountability and respect for Abuja’s development vision, saying that history would judge leaders not by how much they appeased vested interests, but by the legacy they left behind.
“I will not be minister forever, but I will do the right thing. At the time I came, I tried to correct certain things,” he concluded. “Posterity will judge.”
Boluwatife Enome
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