Economy
FCT Minister gives reason for stopping land allocation in Abuja
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Mohammed Bello, on Monday advanced reasons why his administration has not been eager to continue with the tradition of allocating plots of Nigerians to build their houses as his predecessors. The minister, who presented the scorecard of the Muhammadu Buhari administration in the FCT from 2015, said that land allocation and administration was one of the toughest jobs of the minister of the federal territory and that he was not ready to give allocation for land that the allottee might not be able to access in two decades. The minister said that the developed areas with infrastructure in Abuja had since been given out by previous administrations and that it does not make any sense to continue to allocate new plots with new infrastructure and access, a situation that makes the development of such plots almost impossible.
He said “a number of people have mentioned about land. Actually, one of the most difficult assignments of an FCT minister is land matters. I spent a lot of time with my team trying to see how can enhance the situation with land but the reality is that land in Abuja is no longer going to be available and easy as it was 20 years ago when people were being invited to come and get land so that they could develop the city. There is no land in an area where you can develop and many of us have personal experiences where previous administrations allocated land in 20 years down the line you don’t even know where the land is and you cannot have access to it. So, we realised that a secondary market was just created with allocations made and people will just have pieces of paper and at the end of the day, nobody gets to build anything. The whole idea of land is for you to build and that is why we prefer to develop infrastructure and then provide access to the area to enable the allottees to build. What is really happening now is that the template of land allocation has to change.
“The system where you get land and you go in a greenfield with infrastructure and you build is no longer possible because all the areas in phases one to three have all been allocated before we came into office. So any new land allocation will be in phases four and five and infrastructure in some parts of phases one and two has not been completed. So it does not make sense for you to give people a false sense of hope that they have a piece of paper allocation for an area that will take them a lifetime to even get access to it. We are now encouraging the private sector to develop mass housing through direct mass housing allocation for them to put up buildings and then work out with off takers and some of this is being done directly by government through the cooperative societies of MDAs or by private sector companies and now through the land swap system where we open up totally new districts and then you allow private sector to develop and sell the buildings. It is something that has not been perfect but gradually we will get there,” Bello said.
On the distortion of the masterplan of Gwarinpa, turning the once serene and beautiful residential estate into a trading post and creating traffic snarls for residents, the minister blamed the flaw on the dual administration of the area by both the Federal Capital Development Authority and the Federal Housing Authority. Bello however said that with the ceding of all the areas in the FCT under the administration of the FCDA, the distortion of Gwarinpa and other residential areas in the capital territory would be addressed for the overall interest of the people. The minister said, “Gwarinpa, which was conceived as a perfect well designed as a residential accommodation according to the Abuja masterplan. But it is one of the issues we are trying to resolve because it was created by the Federal Government of Nigeria but authority to manage it was not domiciled with the FCDA but the Federal Housing Authority of Nigeria. During the previous administration there was a serious misunderstanding between the FCDA and the FHA and the misuse of purpose clause was caused by the FHA.
“But that has now been resolved by the Administration of the Muhammadu Buhari and we are working towards one standard of operation between the FCDA and the FHA but Gwarinpa occupants should also try to fight and to protect the status of the area because it is not what it was designed to be. It was meant to be a serene beautiful residential estate in Abuja for sections for commercial activities, parks, educational activities and religious activities and others normally expected in residential estates.
The Arab Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) Program and the Federal Republic of Nigeria formalized a partnership with the signing of the AATB Membership Agreement, officially welcoming Nigeria as the Program’s newest member country. The signing ceremony took place in Abuja on the sidelines of the 5th AATB Board of Governors Meeting, hosted by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The Membership Agreement was signed by Eng. Adeeb Y. Al Aama, the CEO of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) and AATB Program Secretary General, and H.E. Mr. Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Agreement will provide a strategic and operational framework to support Nigeria’s efforts in trade competitiveness, promote export diversification, strengthen priority value chains, and advance capacity-building efforts in line with national development priorities. Areas of collaboration will include trade promotion, agribusiness modernization, SME development, businessmen missions, trade facilitation, logistics efficiency, and digital trade readiness.
The Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, called for deeper trade collaboration between African and Arab nations, stressing the importance of value-added Agribusiness and industrial partnerships for regional growth. Speaking in Abuja at the Agribusiness Matchmaking Forum ahead of the AATB Board of Governors Meeting, the Minister said the shifting global economy makes it essential for African and Arab nations to rely more on regional cooperation, investment and shared markets.
He highlighted projections showing Arab-Africa trade could grow by more than US$37 billion in the next three years and urged partners to prioritize value addition rather than raw commodity exports. He noted that Nigeria’s growing industrial base and upcoming National Single Window reforms will support efficiency, investment and private-sector expansion.
“This is a moment to turn opportunity into action”, he said. “By working together, we can build stronger value chains, create jobs and support prosperity across our regions”, Edun emphasized. “As African and Arab nations embark on this journey of deeper trade collaboration, the potential for growth and development is vast. With a shared vision and commitment to value-added partnerships, we can unlock new opportunities, drive economic growth, and create a brighter future for our people.”
Speaking during the event, Eng. Adeeb Y. Al Aama, Chief Executive Officer of ITFC and Secretary General of the AATB Program, stated: “We are pleased to welcome Nigeria to be part of the AATB Program. Nigeria stands as one of Africa’s most dynamic and resilient economies in Africa, with a rapidly expanding private sector and strong potential across agribusiness, energy, manufacturing, and digital industries. Through this Membership Agreement, we look forward to collaborating closely with Nigerian institutions to strengthen value chains, expand regional market access, enhance trade finance and investment opportunities, and support the country’s development priorities.”
The signing of this Agreement underscores AATB’s continued engagement with African countries and its evolving portfolio of programs supporting trade and investment. In recent years, AATB has worked on initiatives across agribusiness, textiles, logistics, digital trade, export readiness under the AfCFTA framework, and other regional initiatives such as the Common African Agro-Parks (CAAPs) Programme.
With Nigeria’s accession, the AATB Program extends it’s presence in the region and adds a key partner working toward advancing trade-led development and fostering inclusive economic growth.
Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the 2026–2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), a key fiscal document that outlines Nigeria’s revenue expectations, macroeconomic assumptions, and spending priorities for the next three years. The approval followed Wednesday’s FEC meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja. The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu made this known after the meeting.
The Minister said the Federal Government is projecting a total revenue inflow of N34.33 trillion in 2026, including N4.98 trillion expected from government-owned enterprises. Bagudu said that the projected revenue is N6.55 trillion lower than earlier estimates, adding that federal allocations are expected to drop by about N9.4 trillion, representing a 16% decline compared to the 2025 budget.
He said that statutory transfers are expected to amount to about N3 trillion within the same fiscal year. On macroeconomic assumptions, FEC adopted an oil production benchmark of 2.6 million barrels per day (mbpd) for 2026, although a more conservative 1.8 mbpd will be used for budgeting purposes. An oil price benchmark of $64 per barrel and an exchange rate of N1,512 per dollar were also approved.
Bagudu said the exchange rate assumption reflects projections tied to economic and political developments ahead of the 2027 general elections. He said the exchange rate assumption took into account the fiscal outlook ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The minister said that all the parameters were based on macroeconomic analysis by the Budget Office and other relevant agencies. Bagudu said FEC also reviewed comments from cabinet members before approving the Medium-Term Fiscal Expenditure Ceiling (MFTEC), which sets expenditure limits. Earlier, the Senate approved the external borrowing plan of $21.5 billion presented by President Tinubu for consideration The loans, according to the Senate, were part of the MTEF and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) for the 2025 budget.
The spot rate on Nigerian Treasury bills has been increased by 146 basis points by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) following tight subscription levels at the main auction on Wednesday. The spot rate on Treasury bills with one-year maturity has now surpassed Nigeria’s 16.05% inflation by 145 basis points following a recent decision to keep the policy rate at 27%.
The Apex Bank came to the primary market with N700 billion Treasury bills offer size across standard tenors, including 91-day, 182-day and 364 day maturities. Details from the auction results showed that demand settled slightly above the total offers as investors began to seek higher returns on naira assets despite disinflation.
Total subscription came in at about N775 billion versus N700 billion offers floated at the main auction. The results showed rising appetite for duration as investors parked about 90% of their bids on Nigerian Treasury bills with 364 days maturity. The CBN opened N100 billion worth of 91 days bills for subscription, but the offer received underwhelming bids totalling N44.17 billion.
The CBN allotted N42.80 billion for the short-term instrument at the spot rate of 15.30%, the same as the previous auction. Total demand for 182 days Nigerian Treasury bills settled at N33.38 billion as against N150 billion that the authority pushed out for subscription. The CBN raised N30.36 billion from 182 days bills allotted to investors at the spot rate of 15.50%, the same as the previous auction.
Investors staked N697.29 billion on N450 billion in 364-day Treasury bills that was offered for subscription. The CBN raised N636.46 billion from the longest tenor at the spot rate of 17.50%, up from 16.04% at the previous auction.
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