The House of Representatives has moved to investigate thousands of abandoned Federal Government-owned buildings and landed properties across Nigeria, estimated to be worth over ₦20 trillion.
This follows the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance sponsored by the Minority Leader, Hon. Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers), during plenary on Wednesday.
Citing Order 8, Rule 5 of the House Standing Orders and Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Chinda said the probe seeks to prevent further waste of public assets and recover valuable national properties left to rot for years.
He referenced a 2021 report by the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, which documented about 11,866 abandoned federal projects nationwide—representing roughly 63 per cent of all projects initiated since Nigeria’s independence.
Some of the notable abandoned properties listed include the Federal Secretariat Complex in Ikoyi, Lagos; the Nigerian International Hotel Building in Suleja, Niger State; the Millennium Tower in Abuja; the National Library Headquarters in Abuja; the FIRS Building in Abia State; the Nigerian Newsprint Manufacturing Company in Kaduna; the Kaduna Textile Building; and the Nigerian Aluminium Smelting Company in Delta State.
Chinda lamented that despite the establishment of the Presidential Implementation Committee on Federal Government Properties in 2000, the committee has yet to submit its final report, raising “serious concerns about transparency and accountability in the management of national assets.”
“The House is disturbed that decades of neglect have exposed several of these structures to decay and depreciation,” he said. “Inflation, obsolete engineering designs, and poor maintenance have further eroded their value.”
The lawmaker urged the Federal Government to consider Public–Private Partnerships as a strategy to revive and utilize the abandoned assets effectively.
“The Federal Government can rescue these valuable assets through strategic PPP arrangements to prevent continuous wastage, structural weakening, and further loss of value,” Chinda added.
Following deliberations, the House unanimously approved the motion through a voice vote presided over by the Speaker.
The yet-to-be-constituted ad hoc committee has been mandated to review previous reports, verify the current status of all identified properties, and recommend recovery measures, including possible engagement with the private sector.
The committee is expected to submit its report within six weeks for further legislative action.
