Jabi Lake: FCTA dismisses “emotional appeals” to clear 15-year-old shanties

By Stanley Onyekwere

​The authoritites of the FCT Administration have launched a high-stakes reclamation of the Jabi Lake waterfront, dismissing viral pleas from high-profile clerics and activists as “emotional appeals” that cannot override the Abuja Master Plan.
While critics fear the commercialization of Abuja’s iconic recreational hub, the FCTA insists the crackdown is not a land grab but a “cleanup” of failed promises and urban decay.
​Making this position known yesterday, FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike’ expressed frustration over developers who acquired prime land around the lake with promises of transforming it into a “City Walk” similar to Dubai’s entertainment districts, only to leave the plots to rot for over a decade.
​“They told us they would build something like what you see in Dubai… But what do you find there today? Shanties. Who will come and stay in such a place?” Wike queried during a media briefing.
According to him, land held undeveloped for 15 years will be revoked, as the FCT is acting strictly within the law to reclaim land from “unserious” investors.
​Wike gave instances where recreational plots were illegally converted into places of worship without government approval.
​The directive follows a wave of online criticism sparked by a popular pastor’s appeal to “leave Jabi Lake for Nigerians.”
The cleric’s warning against limiting public access struck a chord with residents who fear the lake could become an exclusive enclave for the elite.
​Wike, however, slammed the narrative as misleading. “We are not taking anything from the public.
“We are reclaiming land from those who failed to do what they were supposed to do.
​“You cannot take land meant for recreation and turn it into something else,” Wike warned. “That is not how a modern city operates,”the Minister clarified.
​HE reiterated that the goal is a total overhaul of the waterfront to restore its status as a high-end tourist and relaxation destination.