Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), revealed on Monday why he revoked land allocated to Julius Berger to build new homes for judges in Abuja. The announcement was made during the official flag-off ceremony for the construction of 40 judges’ quarters in the nation’s capital.
The event, held in the Katampe District of Abuja, was attended by some of the most prominent figures in Nigeria’s judicial system, including the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, and the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem.
Wike, the former Governor of Rivers State, explained that his decision to take back the land from Julius Berger was necessary for the government’s current housing project. His actions, though seen as sudden by some, were driven by the fact that the land had remained undeveloped for over two decades, even though it had been allocated to the company years earlier.
In his address to Justice Kekere-Ekun and other judicial officers present, Wike shared the backstory of how he came across the land and made the decision to revoke it. He said:
“My Lord, let me bring to your notice. You have seen this land here. When we were looking for where to get land to build. I was driving around looking for empty land and I got here and saw this empty land,” he began.
“I saw the big post: ‘Julius Berger’. I didn’t talk. I called the director of lands (and asked him): who owns that land? And he said: Julius Berger. When was it allocated? He said about 15, 20 years ago. 15, 20 years ago? Nothing has been done? I didn’t bother.
“So, I invited the MD (Managing Director of) Julius Berger. He came and we had dinner. I didn’t talk about the land. The next day, he was in the office and he saw the revocation letter as a matter of public interest.
“He called me and said but I had dinner with you. I said yes; we had dinner but we didn’t discuss the land.
“How will the government allocate land for more than 20 years for organisations to develop and they did not develop it? Thank God they did not develop it and now we can have it.”
