In an effort to address the Federal Government College, FGC, land annexation by Kaduna State Government, Governor, Uba Sani, met with the old students of College and calmed the tension the issue is generating.
Recall that the old students, under the auspices of Unity Schools Old Students Association (USOSA) and Federal Government College Kaduna Old Students Association (FGCKADOSA), had staged a protest, at the College premises, calling on Governor Sani to restore the college’s landed property annexed by the El-Rufai’s government.
During meeting, Governor Sani told the old students that he had not closed his mind to the request by the college stakeholders, with the belief that the former governor decided to annex the land for security reasons.
It was reported that the Director General of Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Agency (KASUPDA), Ismail Umar-Dikko, who was invited to address the meeting, explained that the land was excised due to the ravaging insecurity and kidnapping of school children in North West.
According to the DG, that was why the portion of the land remained undeveloped for over 50 years, and that because the school is close to River Kaduna, it is open to easy attack by bandits.
The governor noted that, as a senator, he knows that the 1976 Land Use Act puts all lands in a state under the control of the governor.
“The governor has the power to allocate and re-allocate land, especially if it borders on public interest. So, I believe El-Rufai decided to annex the land for security challenges, which have been compounded by ungoverned spaces.
“The former government, in its wisdom, felt it did not have to wait for insecurity to happen around the FGC before taking action, because the portion of the land annexed borders River Kaduna and Keke Community of New Millennium City, where series of kidnap cases have been reported.”
But Gov Uba assured the old students that all work at the site would be halted until he personally visits the school to assess the situation, after which dialogue between the government and the stakeholders would continue.
The President General of USOSA, Michael Magaji, who led the delegation to Government House, thanked the governor for the invitation and expressed USOSA’s displeasure over what he called the encroachment of FGC Malali, Kaduna’s land.
Magaji requested that the governor carries USOSA’s executives along when he embarks on the visit to the school.
