By Maryanne Awuya
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has defended the revocation of a long-standing land allocation at Jabi Lake, citing years of non-development and misuse of the site.
Wike said this during his monthly media parley held on Wednesday transmitted live on Channel TV, Arisenews channel and AIT monitored by Persecondnews.
He said the land had been allocated to a private company for about 15 to 16 years without any meaningful progress, despite initial promises to transform it into a modern entertainment and tourism hub.
“When I came on board, I discovered that Jabi Lake had been given to one company for 15 or 16 years without any development,” he said.
“They said they wanted to invest and turn it into an entertainment centre, but when you go there, you see shanties. I went there myself and said, ‘This cannot continue.’”
According to the minister, the government had no option but to revoke the allocation and seek credible investors capable of developing the area in line with its intended purpose.
“You cannot allocate land and leave it for that long with nothing to show. We revoked it. Now we want to give it to people who are ready to develop it,” Wike stated.
He stressed that the new allocation process would be strictly monitored, with clear timelines and conditions to prevent a repeat of past failures.
“To show that it is not personal, we will reallocate the land with clear conditions. If there is no development within the specified time, we will take it back,” he said.
“We cannot give land for 20 years without progress. Who does that?”
Wike disclosed that the FCT Administration is seeking private investment to turn the district into a commercial and recreational hub.
“New land titles will be tied to “measurable milestones” to ensure rapid development.”
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