Senate steps down motion seeking to halt Wike’s land revocations in Abuja

The Senate on Wednesday withdrew a motion that sought to compel Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to suspend land revocations and reallocations in Abuja, after lawmakers raised objections during plenary.

The motion, sponsored by Ireti Kingibe, the senator representing the FCT, was withdrawn following deliberations, after a voice vote showed that a majority of senators opposed aspects of the request.

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), under Wike, has in recent months carried out extensive demolitions across Abuja, citing violations of the Abuja Master Plan.

In addition to the demolitions, the minister has revoked and reassigned land titles, with some plots reportedly allocated to new beneficiaries.

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FCT authorities have maintained that many of the demolished structures lacked valid titles or were developed in breach of approved land-use plans, insisting that enforcement actions were necessary to restore the integrity of the Abuja Master Plan, which they say had been compromised by years of regulatory lapses.

Earlier in the sitting, Kingibe invoked Orders 41 and 51 of the Senate Standing Orders to present what she described as a motion of urgent national importance.

The provisions allow such motions to be raised without prior notice, subject to the consent of the presiding officer.

She told the chamber that she had notified Senate President Godswill Akpabio ahead of time and obtained his approval to proceed.

The motion called for Senate intervention in waste management and sewage services in the FCT, the protection of designated green areas, and an investigation into the alleged unlawful takeover of land belonging to Bwari General Hospital.

However, the Senate ruled that the inclusion of land revocation matters meant the motion did not qualify as one of urgent national importance and directed the lawmaker to withdraw it.

While presenting the motion, Kingibe lamented what she described as a collapse of municipal waste collection across several parts of the FCT, noting that refuse had accumulated for weeks in residential, commercial and public spaces.

She attributed the situation to the prolonged non-payment of contractors and workers under the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) and other FCT agencies, saying they had reportedly not been paid for about nine months, leading to sustained industrial action and the breakdown of essential services.

The senator further alleged that despite outstanding debts owed to contractors between March and October 2025, the FCT minister awarded new waste management contracts, retaining only 50 per cent of the unpaid contractors while bringing in new ones.

According to her, the newly engaged contractors had written to the minister, stating that they could not commence operations without a 30 per cent mobilisation fee, worsening the sanitation crisis.

She warned that sewage blockages and accumulated waste, which she said had persisted for nearly eight months, had reached dangerous levels and posed serious public health risks.

Kingibe also raised concerns over land revocations and reallocations in the FCT, alleging that in some cases demolitions and reallocations were carried out despite pending court processes.

She cited a dispute involving the University of Abuja and argued that such actions contravened the FCT Act of 1976, the Land Use Act of 1978 and Section 88 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empowers the National Assembly to investigate administrative actions in the public interest.

She therefore urged the Senate to mandate the FCT minister and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to halt all revocations, reallocations and alterations affecting designated green areas pending a comprehensive audit of compliance with the Abuja Master Plan.

During debate, several senators objected to the inclusion of land revocation issues in the motion.

Borno North Senator Tahir Monguno, who initially supported the motion, later withdrew his support.

Jibrin Barau, the Deputy Senate President, dismissed the allegations against the FCT minister.

“There are now developments in the FCT. The current minister changed the face of Abuja.

“He’s doing extremely very well. You cannot solve all problems at the same time, if there are other areas that needed to be done, we should engage our committee to interact with the minister so that he could do more,” he said.

The Senate also maintained that Kingibe had only sought approval to raise waste management issues and not land revocations, arguing that the latter did not meet the threshold of urgent national importance.

Similarly, Opeyemi Bamidele, the Senate Leader, said matters raised under urgent national importance must be national in scope and advised that the allegations be brought as a substantive motion on notice.

Following the debate, Akpabio asked the lawmaker to withdraw the motion.

She complied, saying: “I will re-present it as substantive motion on waste management.”