The Alumni Association of the Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently intervene in what it described as a planned forceful takeover of the university’s Bosso campus by Niger State Governor, Muhammed Umar Bago. The association warned that the move could trigger a breakdown of law and order and set a dangerous precedent for federal institutions across the country.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, the National President of the association, Professor Shola Gabriel Solomon, called on the President, the National Assembly, the Minister of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC) to prevail on the governor to halt the action. He accused the Niger State Government of attempting to “forcefully and illegally” assume control of the campus, nearly four decades after the Federal Government fully paid for the property.
The alumni body vowed to defend the university’s assets through all lawful means, including civil, constitutional and international remedies if necessary. It insisted that the Bosso campus was not leased to the university but was lawfully acquired in a completed commercial transaction dating back to 1982.
Solomon recalled that at the establishment of FUT Minna in 1982, the pioneer Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jonathan O. Ndagi, approached the then Governor of Niger State, Awwal Ibrahim, for the release of the former St. Malachy’s Teachers’ College, Bosso, to enable the university commence academic activities. According to him, after due consideration, the state government offered the property to the university on the condition that adequate compensation would be paid.
He explained that a formal agreement was reached at a joint meeting involving representatives of the Niger State Ministries of Education and Works, the NUC and the university, where it was agreed that the sum of ₦2.8 million would be paid as full and adequate compensation. The state government, he said, formally accepted the payment and released the property to the university. “This transaction was a completed commercial and legal act — not a temporary loan, not a grace arrangement, and certainly not a lease that would expire,” Solomon stressed.
However, the Niger State Government has reportedly claimed that the campus was leased to the university for 40 years and subsequently issued eviction notices last year. The alumni association faulted both the claim and the manner in which the state government allegedly proceeded, describing the eviction notice — which reportedly gave only a few weeks to vacate — as arbitrary and unlawful.
“This is unconscionable, illegal, and a gross violation of due process,” Solomon said. “The forcible seizure of a Federal Government institution’s property by a State Government is a brazen violation of the constitutional delineation of federal and state powers under the 1999 Constitution.”
The association also dismissed claims that the Bosso campus is no longer in use. Solomon maintained that the campus currently houses academic departments, laboratories, lecture theatres, a staff school, staff quarters, a bank, the Juma’at Mosque, the Chapel of Grace and other vital facilities serving thousands of students and staff.
Warning of the wider implications, the alumni body said allowing such action to stand would endanger all federal institutions operating within states across Nigeria. “If a state government can unilaterally decide to evict a Federal University from its campus without lawful basis or due process, no Federal institution in Nigeria is safe. This is an assault not just on FUT Minna but on the federal character principle and the unity of this nation,” the association stated.
The group called on the university’s Governing Council and Management to take immediate legal steps to protect the Bosso campus and pledged full moral, financial and organisational support toward the defence of the institution’s property rights. It also urged students, staff, retirees and alumni at home and in the diaspora to stand in solidarity with the university.
Describing the campus as “sacred ground” and the cradle of countless careers that have contributed to national development, the association declared that it would not surrender it to what it termed political brinkmanship and constitutional lawlessness.
The alumni body further called on the National Assembly to summon Governor Bago and relevant state officials to explain the action before appropriate legislative committees. It insisted that the integrity of federal institutions must be defended at the highest levels of government, adding that it was closely monitoring developments and prepared to pursue the matter up to the Supreme Court if necessary.