The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has stepped in to resolve the dispute between the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and the Abuja Technology Village (ATV), a licensed Free Trade Zone, over the revocation of the zone’s land title.

Managing Director of NEPZA, Dr. Olufemi Ogunyemi, therefore, urged ATV operators and investors to withdraw the lawsuit they filed against the FCT administration to facilitate a roundtable negotiation.

The ATV operators had responded to the revocation notice issued by the FCT administration with a lawsuit.

Speaking when he visited the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, Ogunyemi said support for the growth of the Free Trade Zones Scheme would benefit the nation’s economy and the FCT’s development, emphasising the scheme’s potential to accelerate industrialisation.

According to a statement from the Authority on Friday, Ogunyemi commended the FCT Minister for the steps he had taken to expand the economic frontier of the territory through the proposed Abuja City Walk (ACW) project.

He said the Authority would soon assess all 63 licensed Free Trade Zones across the country to determine their functionality and contributions to the nation’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and export drives.

Ogunyemi said: “I have come to discuss with His Excellency, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, on the importance of supporting the ATV to succeed while also promoting the development of the Abuja City Walk project. We must work together to achieve this for the good of our nation.”

Responding, the FCT Minister reiterated his determination to work towards President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda by bringing FDI to the FCT.
“We must fulfil Mr. President’s promises regarding industrialisation, trade, and investment. In this context, the FCT will collaborate with NEPZA to review the future of ATV, a zone that was sponsored and supported by the FCT administration,” Wike said.

Wike also said that efforts were underway to fast-track the industrialisation process of the territory with the construction of the Abuja City Walk.

He said the Abuja City Walk project was planned to cover over 200 hectares in the Abuja Technology Village corridor along Airport Road to create a lively, mixed-use urban centre with residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, medical, and institutional facilities.

The Minister added that the ACW would turn out to be a high-definition and world-class project that would give the Renewed Hope Agenda true meaning in the North-Central Region of the country.