The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Abuja (UniAbuja) branch, has demanded the immediate reversal of the alleged unlawful allocation of the university’s land by FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
The union also appealed to President Bola Tinubu to call Wike to order over the disputed land, saying this would allow peace and harmony to prevail on the university campus.
The Chairperson of ASUU, UniAbuja branch, Prof. Sylvanus Ugoh, made the demands at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference was tagged: “Ministerial Encroachment into University of Abuja Land: Some Points to Ponder.”
Ugoh said the union would no longer guarantee industrial harmony if the minister failed to reverse the alleged allocation of the university’s land to his friends and cronies.
“The act of the FCT Minister is an outright breach and total disregard for the rule of law.
“On Aug. 18, Justice F.E. Mesiri of Maitama High Court granted interlocutory injunctions, including an order restraining the FCT Minister from entering or encroaching on University land.
“In spite of the court order, the FCT Minister went ahead on Sept. 26, to allocate the university land to companies and individuals,” he said.
Ugoh said the minister announced on June 30, 2025, during the inauguration of an access road to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Institute in Giri, the retrieval of 7,000 hectares from the 11,000 hectares allocated to the university.
He said the minister had accused the university of land grabbing and fencing several hectares of land without proper approval or documentation.
“There is overwhelming documentary evidence showing that this parcel of land was allocated to the University of Abuja,” he said.
He explained that the University of Abuja was established on January 1, 1988, with an initial land allocation of 11,824 hectares to accommodate its long-term academic and infrastructural development.
According to him, the university authority could not have on its own decided where to situate the institution.
He said the university and the land were the property of the Federal Government and not the FCT.
Ugoh said the large landmass was deliberately allocated to provide room for future expansion, research activities, academic facilities and other institutional needs.
He noted that the university, as a dual-mode institution offering conventional and distance learning programmes, required sufficient land to fulfil its mandate.
Ugoh said the land was also needed for the establishment of research institutes, innovation centres and other facilities that would contribute to national development.
He added that portions of the land served as green areas for ecological balance, environmental conservation and climate change mitigation.
“The development of the University of Abuja may seem very slow, but it is still the Federal Government that is responsible for the development of its university.
“We appreciate the zeal of the FCT Minister to develop the FCT, but the argument that the land has been left undeveloped for too long does not stand.
“Universities gradually realise their full potential. It is pertinent to mention that the 11,824 hectares of University of Abuja land is not in any way beyond a dual-mode university in the country’s capital.
“For instance, University of Ilorin occupies 15,000 hectares, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, occupies 13,000 hectares, Federal University of Technology, Minna, occupies 10,650 hectares and Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, occupies 10,000 hectares,” he said.
He explained that out of the 11,824 hectares occupied by the University of Abuja, about two hectares were hilly and would require huge resources to develop.
He said the union would, within the ambit of the law, resist in totality any attempt by the minister to unlawfully take away UniAbuja land.
NAN reports that the news conference followed an emergency congress of the union held at the university on November 3 to deliberate on the land dispute.
In June 2025, Wike accused the varsity of land grabbing and noted that the institution has claimed 11,000 hectares of land, of which he had retrieved 7,000.
(NAN)
Source: punchng.com
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