The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Abuja branch, has threatened industrial action over an alleged move by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to take over portions of the university’s land for allocation to private individuals and companies.

The union also threatened legal action to resist the alleged encroachment, insisting that land acquired for public purposes should not be appropriated for private interests.

The ASUU branch chairman, Sylvanus Ugoh, disclosed this on Tuesday during a press conference in Abuja, where he condemned the alleged move and called on the FCT minister to reverse the decision.

Ugoh argued that universities, as public institutions established to promote education, research and national development, should be protected against actions capable of undermining their operations and long-term development.

He questioned the rationale behind the alleged plan to allocate portions of the university’s land for commercial purposes, including shopping malls and filling stations.

“You can revoke individual land for public interest, but you cannot revoke land of public interest for individual use. It should be the other way round,” he said.

The union chairman recalled that the University of Abuja was established in 1988 and noted that successive FCT ministers had not taken similar steps against its land.

He maintained that ASUU would explore every lawful means to prevent what he described as an unlawful attempt to appropriate the institution's property.

“We will follow it in every way within the ambit of the law to resist in totality this unlawful act,” Ugoh said.

He, however, warned that the controversy could threaten industrial harmony on the university campus, stressing that the union could not guarantee uninterrupted industrial relations if the matter remained unresolved.

“But we cannot guarantee industrial harmony within this campus,” he warned.

Ugoh also expressed concern over the alleged disregard for existing court orders relating to the dispute, urging the relevant authorities to respect the rule of law.

“Somebody wouldn’t expect that an agent of government would have a disregard for the rule of law. I think that court order would have been respected,” he added.

The union reiterated its position that the university's land should remain protected for its institutional and public purposes.