The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, NEPZA, has called on operators of Abuja Technology Village, ATV, and its investors to immediately withdraw the lawsuit filed against the FCT Administration over the potential revocation of its land title, to facilitate a roundtable negotiation.
Managing Director of NEPZA,
Dr. Olufemi Ogunyemi, made the call in Abuja after a meeting with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, Nyisom Wike.
A statement by the Head of Corporate Communications at NEPZA, Dr. Martins Odeh, said the meeting was a step by the authority to resolve the dispute between the FCTA and ATV, a licensed Free Trade Zone, over the potential revocation of the zone’s land title.
Recall that the ATV operators responded to the revocation notice issued by the FCT administration with a lawsuit.
Ogunyemi stated that the continued support for the growth of the Free Trade Zones Scheme would benefit the nation’s economy and the FCT’s development, emphasizing that the FCT administration recognized the scheme’s potential to accelerate industrialisation.
The Chief Executive of NEPZA also expressed delight at the steps taken by the FCT minister to expand the economic frontier of the FCT through the proposed Abuja City Walk, ACW, project.
He further explained that the Authority was preparing to assess all the 63 licensed Free Trade Zones across the country with the view to vetting their functionality and contributions to the nation’s Foreign Direct Investment and export drives.
“I have come to discuss with His Excellency, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory on the importance of supporting the ATV to succeed while also promoting the development of the Abuja City Walk project. We must work together to achieve this for the good of our nation,” he said.
On his part, the FCT Minister, Wike reiterated his unflinching determination to work towards President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda by bringing foreign direct investment to the FCT.
“We must fulfil Mr. President’s promises regarding industrialization, trade, and investment. In this context, the FCT will collaborate with NEPZA to review the future of ATV, a zone that was sponsored and supported by the FCT administration,” Wike said.
The FCT minister also said that efforts were underway to fast-track the industrialisation process of the territory with the construction of the Abuja City Walk.
He noted that the Abuja City Walk project was planned to cover over 200 hectares in the Abuja Technology Village corridor along Airport Road.
According to him, the business ecosystem aimed to create a lively, mixed-use urban center with residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, medical, and institutional facilities.
He added that the ACW would turn out to be a high-definition and world-class project that would give this administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda true meaning in the North-Central Region of the country.
Wike also indicated his continued pursuit of land and property owners who failed to fulfil their obligations to the FCT in his determination to develop the territory.
