By Sarah NEGEDU
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has warned developers handling the multi-billion-dollar Abuja City Walk project to meet agreed construction milestones or risk losing the land allocated for the development.
He said the FCT Administration would no longer tolerate projects that remain on paper or developers who fail to honour commitments after securing government land.
Wike gave the warning at the launch of the Abuja City Walk Sales Office and Experience Centre in Abuja, where he disclosed that the administration entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the developers, spelling out specific timelines for every stage of the project, adding that failure to deliver would trigger the withdrawal of the allocation.
“We have also agreed in the Memorandum of Understanding, after now, in the next one year, we have achieved so-so things. If that is not achieved, we’ll take back our land. Because I’m not interested in theories and theories and theories, I’m interested in keeping to our agreement in terms of what we have said,” Wike said.
The minister explained that the project was conceived as part of efforts to attract investment into the FCT and transform a site that had remained undeveloped for decades.
According to him, the land, originally earmarked for the Abuja Technology Village more than 30 years ago, had been encroached upon by land grabbers and individuals laying fraudulent claims to ownership before the FCTA reclaimed it for development.
“I put my foot down, and I said, ‘No, this is government property, and I must drive this development to come to FCT,'” he said.
Wike said the administration also dismantled bureaucratic bottlenecks that often discourage investors by bringing all relevant agencies together under a committee he personally chaired to fast-track approvals.
He disclosed that the developers obtained their building approval in less than two days, while the FCTA also fulfilled its commitment to provide access roads to the project site through CGC Nigeria Limited.
“The whole essence of government is to give enabling environment for investors to come in and develop. There are a lot of jobs that will be created here,” he added.
Speaking at the event, President Tinubu said his administration remained committed to creating an environment where private investments could thrive, describing the Abuja City Walk as one of the most ambitious private-sector developments in the country’s history.
Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, the President assured local and foreign investors that Nigeria remained open for business, saying government was strengthening legal, financial and physical frameworks to protect investments and eliminate unnecessary administrative bottlenecks.
Tinubu also said the administration was gradually bringing an end to speculative land holding in the Federal Capital Territory, insisting that land should serve development rather than remain idle.
“We have made it clear that land is an asset for rapid development, not an instrument for developmental retrogression and speculative hoarding,” he said.
The President added that the Abuja City Walk project would create thousands of direct and indirect jobs while stimulating commerce, hospitality, medical tourism and other economic activities across the FCT and neighbouring states through a partnership between government and the private sector.
