Wike vows to reclaim undeveloped mass housing lands in Abuja

Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), says the administration will revoke undeveloped plots allocated for mass housing across Abuja.

Speaking during a media chat in Abuja on Monday, Wike described the situation as a blatant abuse of public assets, accusing developers of converting land meant for mass housing into private business ventures.

He said many individuals and organisations had acquired large parcels of land under the pretext of building housing estates but failed to deliver on the original purpose.

“Somebody took 500 hectares of land for housing. Where is the housing? You give him C-of-O, with nothing to say, if this is not done, the land goes back to the government. Today, we have changed that pattern. I’ve changed that pattern now,” Wike said.

“People have used government to make money without carrying out the whole essence of agreement.”

The minister added that instead of building housing units, some developers simply subdivide the land and sell it off.

Wike said the FCT administration has introduced a new policy to stop the abuse. Going forward, all land allocations will be tied to clear timelines, strict documentation, and performance clauses.

According to him, no allocation will be approved without proper documentation, including start and end dates for the proposed project.

He also vowed to overhaul the land administration process and eliminate internal sabotage, saying staff who frustrate genuine development efforts would no longer be tolerated.

The minister expressed concern over fraudulent land allocations by some senior officials of the FCT administration, which he said had undermined the Abuja master plan.

He cited an instance where 500 hectares of land were allocated after his predecessor left office.

“These 500 hectares of land I was saying, that was given to… was signed by a director of land, when the minister had just left. They organised, went to court… without the legal department knowing.

“Even if you know, they take somebody in the legal department to go and concede to the complaints,” he said.

Wike described the system as compromised and said it required urgent reform.

He added that the government must rebuild public confidence in the land administration process.

“We must have to do things that will make people think that, yes, we are carrying out the right thing. And people will have confidence in you,” he said.