The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Nyesom Wike, has set up two special committees to investigate serious violations of land use and agreements in Abuja. Both committees have been given a strict two-week deadline to submit their findings.
Speaking during the inauguration in Abuja on Friday, Wike said one committee will focus on the River Park Estate, where developers allegedly breached agreements with the FCT Administration. The second committee will investigate cases where land has been illegally converted from residential to commercial use, in violation of approved Certificates of Occupancy (C of O).
The River Park Committee is led by Barrister Salman Dako, while the Land Use Committee is headed by Town Planner Mukhtar Galadima, who is also the Director of Development Control.
Wike said many developers have violated the terms of agreements signed under mass housing projects and warned that these acts undermine proper city planning. “Government gives out land for specific purposes, but people change it without approval. This must stop,” he said.
He instructed the committees to carry out their duties professionally and without any external influence. “If I hear that anyone is trying to interfere, from within or outside the FCTA, there will be consequences,” he warned.
Wike also told department heads in Lands, AGIS, Development Control, and Urban & Regional Planning to immediately compile a list of all landowners and organizations who have defaulted on ground rent payments from 2022 to 2025.
He explained that recovering these funds is crucial to funding key infrastructure projects in the 2025 FCT budget, which has already been approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. “The budget has been signed, but without money, we cannot implement any meaningful project,” he added.
The Minister made it clear that time is of the essence. “There will be no extension. If you need to work day and night, so be it,” he told the committee members.
This move is part of a wider effort by the FCT Administration to restore order, protect Abuja’s Master Plan, and boost internally generated revenue.
