By Shehu Nuhu
The recent press release by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) announcing sweeping reforms in land administration under the direction of the FCT Minister, Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, raises deep concerns about the long-term implications for the integrity of the Abuja Master Plan, equitable land access, and environmental sustainability.
While cloaked in the language of urban development, investor confidence, and administrative efficiency, the new policy directives – particularly the non-extendable 21-day window for payment, and the two-year development deadline – appear to be more of a legal smokescreen to facilitate massive land dispossession and reward cronies under the pretext of reforms.
Key concerns include:
Elitist exclusion: The 21-day window to pay prescribed fees and submit Letters of Acceptance is grossly unrealistic for the average Nigerian allottee, many of whom are civil servants or informal workers without access to immediate liquidity. This will inevitably disenfranchise thousands of legitimate landholders, paving the way for politically connected individuals and entities to hijack abandoned or “forfeited” lands.
Weaponization of development timeline: Mandating that allottees must develop their plots within two years ignores the economic reality of inflation, exchange rate instability, and building material shortages. This is not about development, but about creating artificial breaches to enable revocation and reallocation of land under ministerial discretion.
Distortion of Mass Housing intent: While the promise to title mass housing estates and sectional interests sounds progressive, there is no clear framework to protect the original subscribers, many of whom have long suffered under failed developer agreements and government inertia. This new policy may just legalize what has been a systematic stripping of housing rights from low- and middle-income residents.
Regularization as a mirage: With over 261,000 Area Council documents submitted for regularization, and only 2,358 titles issued since 2006 (just 0.9%), the FCTA’s track record raises doubt about its sincerity. How can Nigerians trust a system that has failed for almost two decades to suddenly become transparent overnight, especially under a Minister with a controversial governance style?
Abuja’s green spaces, low-density zones, and residential neighborhoods are being sacrificed on the altar of short-term revenue and political patronage, undermining both the letter and spirit of the Abuja Master Plan.
This is therefore a call to action. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should immediately order an independent review of the FCT Land Reform Framework, institute a moratorium on revocations pending stakeholder consultation.
He should also protect the Abuja Master Plan from further desecration under the guise of “reform.”
The National Assembly should also investigate the operational motives behind these new land policies and ensure they are not used to legalize land grabbing.
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the World Bank, AfDB, and other development partners, on its part, should monitor and assess the environmental and social consequences of these new policies.
These bodies should also support civic voices and organizations working to preserve Abuja as a planned, inclusive and environmentally responsible capital city.
Abuja does not belong to any Minister, cabal or speculator. It is the collective inheritance of all Nigerians, and we must defend it with truth and courage.
Shehu Nuhu wrote from Asokoro, Abuja
