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Asks: What is ASUU’s business with land ownership?
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By Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has dismissed the strike threat by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Abuja (UniAbuja) chapter, over the reallocation of portions of the institution’s land, insisting that the union has no authority over land administration in the FCT.
Wike, who spoke on Thursday during his monthly media chat in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, challenged the union’s involvement in matters of land allocation, declaring that the responsibility rests with the FCT Administration (FCTA), not a trade union.
Reacting to ASUU’s threat to embark on industrial action if the FCTA failed to reverse the disputed allocations, the minister questioned the union’s claim to ownership of the university’s land.
“What is the business of ASUU on our land? How is ASUU the owner of land? Is ASUU the owner of the union in Nigeria now? Is it the union’s right?” he asked.
The minister maintained that land administration and enforcement of the Abuja master plan fall within the statutory responsibilities of the FCTA, insisting that the government would not abandon its development plans because of threats of industrial action.
He also questioned the justification for allowing a single university to retain thousands of hectares of land, particularly where substantial portions remained undeveloped and could impede planned infrastructure and urban development.
Wike said the FCTA’s decision was part of the government’s responsibility to regulate land use and ensure that land allocated for public institutions was properly documented, approved and utilised.
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On ASUU’s threat to challenge the decision in court, the minister said the administration was prepared to defend its actions, stressing that neither litigation nor the threat of a strike would deter it from carrying out its statutory responsibilities.
He accused the union’s leadership of attempting to use industrial action as leverage against the government, urging it to follow established procedures rather than resort to what he described as blackmail.
The minister further insisted that federal institutions could not arbitrarily lay claim to thousands of hectares of land without meeting the necessary requirements for documentation, approval and development.
The dispute followed a press conference by the ASUU UniAbuja chapter chairman, Dr Sylvanus Ugoh, who warned that the union could no longer guarantee industrial harmony on the university campus if Wike failed to reverse the land allocations in the Giri District.
ASUU had argued that the 11,824 hectares originally allocated to the university were essential for its long-term expansion, agricultural research and infrastructure development.
The union expressed concern over the reallocation of portions of the land to private developers and government agencies, maintaining that the disputed area was part of the institution’s designated landholding.
However, Wike maintained that the FCTA would proceed with its land administration decisions, insisting that all allocations within the nation’s capital remained subject to the regulatory authority of the FCT Administration.
