Oyo State rejects FG’s ownership claims on revoked lands

By Adejayan Gbenga –

The Oyo State Government has challenged the federal government’s claims over the ownership of several properties in the state, insisting that the affected lands were lawfully revoked and reallocated after years of abandonment and misuse.

The Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Akinfunmilayo Williams, stated this during a press briefing in Ibadan on Thursday.

Williams was responding to a public notice issued by the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, which warned Nigerians against buying or claiming ownership of certain properties in Oyo State, describing them as federal assets.

He explained that the state’s action was guided by the Land Use Act of 1978, which vests authority over all land within a state in the governor, adding that the government acted in the interest of the people.

According to him, the affected sites—including the Africa Regional Centre for Engineering Design and Manufacturing (ARCEDEM), the Federal Low-Cost Estate at Idi-Ayure, and the Federal Housing Scheme in Saki—had been abandoned for decades and posed security threats to nearby communities.

Williams recalled that the state revoked the ARCEDEM land in 2020 after several complaints from residents and security agencies, noting that it was “a jungle harbouring criminals” before its reclamation.

He described the Federal Government’s latest claim as embarrassing, accusing some federal agencies of violating state planning regulations and erecting structures without proper approvals.

The commissioner reaffirmed that the state would not tolerate non-compliance with its planning laws or allow any federal establishment to act above the law to the detriment of the people of Oyo State.