Wike grants Nigerian Law School C-of-O fee waiver, fast-tracks staff housing

FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has granted an immediate waiver of Certificate of Occupancy processing fees for the Nigerian Law School’s Abuja campus in Bwari, and declared an emergency on the construction of staff quarters and other critical infrastructure at the institution.

Wike announced the measures during a meeting with the school’s management in Abuja, responding to an appeal from the Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Dr. Olugbemisola Titilayo Odusote.

The minister expressed surprise that the institution had operated without a C of O since relocating to Bwari, describing the absence of official land documentation in government institutions as a pattern his administration was actively working to correct.

He directed the Director of Lands to waive all processing fees and issued a firm directive that the document be ready within one week, noting that regularising the school’s land status was essential to move it from what he described as an “illegal session” to rightful ownership.

Beyond land matters, Wike committed the FCT Administration to a series of high-priority infrastructure interventions. He announced that 10 staff quarters already completed would be commissioned as part of President Bola Tinubu’s third anniversary celebrations, and pledged to construct an additional 10 units using existing building prototypes to reduce design costs.

The minister confirmed that work is progressing on two new hostels — one for male students and one for female students — to ease overcrowding, and that he had approved the budget for a new auditorium, querying why the contractor had yet to mobilise to the site.

Wike also directed the school’s management to liaise with the FCTA General Counsel to explore digitisation solutions for administrative functions, citing ongoing similar efforts at the FCT High Court as a model.

He described the interventions as part of President Tinubu’s broader agenda to support legal education and the judiciary, noting that the president is also constructing residential apartments for judges to safeguard their security, welfare, and independence.

“Anything we can do to help our children, we are willing to do that,” Wike said, adding that the staff quarters must be treated as an emergency to ensure rapid delivery.

Earlier, Dr. Odusote had congratulated the minister on his appointment and praised infrastructure developments across the FCT, while drawing attention to the disrepair and infrastructure deficits confronting the Law School.