By Pius Awunah
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has announced that a new waste management system will start on Monday, November 17, 2025, to ensure a cleaner and better-organised Abuja.
This was revealed after the FCT Executive Committee (EXCO) meeting held on Friday, November 14,2025, and chaired by the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike.
Speaking with journalists after the meeting, the Coordinator of the Abuja Municipal Management Council (AMMC), Chief Felix Amechi Obuah, said the committee approved new contractors for waste collection and management across the FCT.
He added that the approval also included buying treatment plants and maintaining supervisory utility vehicles.
Obuah said he was confident that the new system would improve sanitation and make Abuja cleaner.
“Residents should expect a cleaner city,” he stated.
The Head of the Satellite Towns Development Department (STDD), Hon. Abdulkadir Zulkiflu said the committee also approved funds for emergency waste evacuation from open dumps, waterways, and streams in the Dogon Gada community in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
He confirmed that the sum of N111,913,176 was approved for the contract.
Also, the FCT Transportation Secretary, Hon. Chinedum Elechi announced that funds had been approved for printing services for the Directorate of Road Transport Services.
He added that approval was given for maintaining 34 old traffic lights and installing three new ones within the city.
The Chief of Staff to the Minister, Hon. Chidi Amadi said Wike is committed to making Abuja cleaner and more organised.
“The Minister is so much concerned, especially with regard to the contract concerning waste management, and he is very serious about it because it is related directly to the cleanliness of the city,” he said.
In another development,
officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) have accepted responsibility for the confrontation that occurred on Tuesday November 11,2025,at a disputed site on Plot 1946, Gaduwa District, involving FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and a naval officer, Lt. A.M. Yerima.
A video of naval personnel blocking the minister from accessing the property — reportedly linked to former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo (rtd) — had circulated widely on social media.
Addressing journalists after the FCT Executive Committee (EXCO) meeting, Director of the Department of Development Control, Tpl Mukhtar Galadima, offered a comprehensive explanation of the events leading to the clash and apologised for the minister’s involvement.
Galadima said: “It is with a sense of commitment, emotion and regret that we address this press conference on the incident that happened on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, at the Gaduwa District.”
He explained that FCTA officials first noticed the construction on October 17,2025, during routine monitoring. When they requested approval documents, naval personnel allegedly threatened to open fire.
“The matter was escalated the following day, and after intervention by a senior naval colleague, documents were presented”,he said.
However, Galadima said the only document provided was a 2007 letter of intent from the Department of Parks and Recreation not an approval.
He said: “We came back on Monday, November 10,2025 to the same site, I met the officer, Navy Lieutenant Yarima, and I appealed to him, please, if you have this approval, show it to us, because what was sent to us is not an approval, it is just a letter of intent issued by the Department of Parks and Recreation.”
The director added that the claimants’ lawyer admitted the necessary processes were still incomplete.
Galadima said he called the minister to the site due to the presence of armed officers, which ultimately led to the public confrontation captured on video.
The FCTA director apologised, saying: “I want to sincerely apologize to the Honorable Minister for dragging him into this situation… armed men were strategically positioned, ready to shoot… I apologise to the Honorable Minister, indeed to all Nigerians for what happened.”
He stressed that the enforcement aligned with the FCT Act of 1976 and the Urban and Regional Planning Law of 1992, which prohibited development without formal approval.
Providing further clarity, Director of Lands Administration, Chijioke Nwankwoeze, said the claimants had no statutory title to the property.
He stated: “The claimants have relied on a letter of intent issued by the Department of Parks and Recreation in 2007 Letter of intent, not statutory right of occupancy. I wish to make it clear that in the FCT, the only thing that gives you title to land is statutory right of occupancy.”
Nwankwoeze noted that the letter of intent required submission of a technical proposal within 21 days and completion of development within one year — conditions the claimants never fulfilled.
He added: “All they did was after all of those papers were withdrawn, they moved into those sites and started building illegally.”
The FCTA officials emphasised that their actions were necessary to protect Abuja’s master plan and uphold the rule of law, while acknowledging the public concerns raised by the incident.
