Niger State Governor Warns of Possible Withdrawal of FUT Minna Campus Land Title – Alumni Association

Niger State Governor, Mohammed Bago, has issued a warning to revoke the Certificate of Occupancy of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, due to a longstanding dispute over the institution's Bosso Campus.

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This threat was made on Thursday in Abuja during a meeting in the Education Minister's conference room, where representatives of the university's governing council and the Niger State Government gathered to resolve the dispute surrounding the proposed handover of the Bosso campus to the state government.

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Prof. Shola Solomon, President of the university's Alumni Association, revealed this information in a statement issued on Friday, detailing the outcome of the meeting between the two parties.

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The meeting commenced at approximately 5:30 pm on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at the Minister's conference room, with the Vice-Chancellor leading the delegation of principal officers, representatives of staff unions on campus, and the Alumni Association.

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The Vice-Chancellor presented a nine-minute video showcasing current activities at the Bosso campus, which was recorded that morning and effectively countered the governor's claim that the campus had been unused for 15 years.

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The Vice-Chancellor also submitted payment vouchers and receipts demonstrating payment in two instalments amounting to N2.8m for the outright purchase of the then Government Teachers College, Minna, which served as the take-off site for FUT Minna in 1983.

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However, the Niger State Government failed to present any documents supporting the 40-year lease agreement previously claimed by Governor Bago at various forums, according to Solomon.

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When invited to speak, Governor Bago threatened to revoke the Certificate of Occupancy presented by the university, stating that it had expired and that he would also revoke the one for the Gidan Kwano campus, and even cut the power line supplying electricity to the university if he wished.

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The Niger State Government had attempted to take over the Bosso campus of FUT Minna for the use of medical students of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, citing an expired lease agreement, but the university authorities resisted the move, insisting that the institution remained a fully functional Federal Government establishment and that the land had been purchased outright from the state.

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The dispute led to protests by the university's chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities and the National Association of Nigerian Students, who condemned the government's attempt to take over the campus, with ASUU describing the move as an unlawful attempt to seize the university's Bosso campus.

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Staff and students staged protests within the campus, led by ASUU and the Student Union Government, describing the move as an attempt at an unlawful land grab, with the university's ASUU Chairperson, Prof. Lukman Oyewobi, condemning the plan and warning that the university community would not watch bulldozers destroy their heritage.

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Oyewobi revealed that state government officials had already visited the site to begin the acquisition process without the university's consent, prompting the emergency protest, and noted that the campus houses over 25 research centres, science laboratories, staff quarters, and places of worship, stressing that the facility was far from abandoned.

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He warned that any attempt to enforce the takeover would disrupt academic activities and affect thousands of students, staff, and research programmes, and also faulted the state government's claim that the campus was under a temporary lease, noting that the Federal Government had paid N2.8m in 1983 for full ownership of the property.

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The ASUU chairman described the campus as a vital federal asset, not idle land for political grabs, and called for the intervention of the Federal Government to halt the forceful takeover, warning that it constituted an assault on academic freedom.

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Oyewobi urged the National Assembly, the National Universities Commission, and civil society organisations to protect the campus, and called on Governor Bago to reconsider the move, questioning why a thriving university was being targeted when Niger, Nigeria's largest state by landmass, had plenty of alternatives.

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Prof. Bashir Ganiyu, Dean of Student Affairs, questioned where students would relocate to if the eviction plan was implemented, given the student population of about 25,000 and accommodation for only about 5,000 across all campuses.

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A 500-level student and Vice-President of the Student Union, Mohamed Ramas, expressed concern over the eviction notice, wondering where students would go and how leaders who are parents themselves could authorise such a reckless eviction.

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Solomon later disclosed that the dispute was eventually reframed during the Abuja meeting, shifting from a discussion about taking over the Bosso campus to a discussion on collaboration and sharing of facilities to enable the 300-level medical students of IBB University, Lapai, to continue their studies.

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The governor asked the Vice-Chancellor if there was any issue with sharing facilities at the Bosso campus, to which the Vice-Chancellor responded that he did not have the authority to make such a decision, prompting the minister to direct that the governing council should meet with the Niger State Government team to work out modalities for facility sharing.