Nyesom Wike, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, has reduced the land acquired by the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) from 11,000 hectares to 4,000 hectares over alleged land grabbing.
The minister made the announcement on Monday, June 30, 2025, in Abuja when the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr Tajudeen Abbas, commissioned the access road to the permanent site of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC Academy and other roads in Giri District, on behalf of President Bola Tinubu.
Initially sitting on 11,824 hectares, the University of Abuja was Nigeria’s third-largest University by landmass, coming after Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), with 13,000 hectares, and the University of Ilorin with 15,000 hectares.
It is now eight on the table, coming after the Federal University of Technology Owerri, FUTO, which sits on 4,048 hectares.
Wike said; “What we have done now is, having created this access road, we have told the Executive Secretary of FCDA and other relevant agencies to start working out details of how we are going to do the roads within the district, so, that we are sure that maybe in the next one year, it will be a different thing.
This district, like the Executive Secretary has said, we are going to have most institutions, like the University, the EFCC Academy, and other institutions that are supposed to be here.
“This road has helped us to stop the land grabbing by the University. The Universit,y on their own, grabbed 11,000 hectares. I said that would not happen. No document, nothing. You see them fencing everywhere, and before you knew it, they would have gone to sell our land.
“So I have told the Director of Lands and the other relevant agencies to carve out 4,000 hectares and give to the University. The other ones would be reallocated because we are going to provide the roads here and that is the true situation. We cannot allow people. You just wake up in the morning, all you see is just fencing all over, no document, nothing. That is not the way we are supposed to work”.
He further hinted at a potential collaboration with the National Assembly in setting up institutions in the district, pledging FCTA’s support for land provision to fast-track the process.
The EFCC Academy, one of the major institutions in the area, is expected to commence operations immediately following the completion of the road, which now provides easy access for equipment mobilization and structural development.
“They will start the academy immediately because now they have access roads that they can move in their equipment and develop this. And when this comes, you see that other people will also move in and develop their own area,” he said.
Highlighting the challenge of infrastructure scarcity discouraging land development, Wike pledged to provide essential amenities such as roads, water, and electricity to attract investors and improve the living conditions in the district.
“Most of the problems we’re having here is that sometimes when you allocate land, there are no facilities, no infrastructure, and people are not encouraged. So, we will do everything we can to see that basic infrastructure is being provided,” he said.
