FGCKOSA says about 30 hectares inside Federal Government College Kano were quietly concessioned under a PPP land swap, with a ground-breaking already fixed for 6 April and no public notice, consultation or disclosure.
KANO, Nigeria — What began as a land transaction in Kano has now blown into a full-blown test of transparency for the Federal Ministry of Education. The Federal Government College Kano Old Students Association, FGCKOSA, claims that officials executed a secretive Public Private Partnership land swap. It involved about 30 hectares of school land.
They then scheduled a ground-breaking ceremony for 6 April. This happened before the public had been properly informed about what was going on. The alumni body has asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to step in at once.
FGCKOSA’s central complaint is simple and damaging. It says the concession was never publicly advertised. It was never opened to stakeholder scrutiny. The concession was never discussed with the people who have spent years supporting the school.
In the association’s own words, it has protested what it calls a “backdoor concession” of federal educational property for private commercial use.
At the centre of the storm is Pluck Global Company Ltd. Reports say the firm was registered in 2017. It is based on Beirut Road in Kano.
The company is linked to Musaddiq Ado Bala Talle, who is described in those reports as a close associate of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.
The same reporting says Talle is a member of Kano State’s 17-member strategic committee for the 2025 to 2029 investment plan. This involvement has only deepened suspicion over possible political influence.
FGCKOSA President Shoyinka Shodunke says the association was sidelined despite “decades of involvement” in the school’s development.
The group says alumni have contributed billions of naira to infrastructure. They have also supported academics over the years. They never asked for ownership of any part of the land.
Its line is sharp and repeated: “FGC Kano should be expanding, not shrinking.”
The land itself is another flashpoint. The association insists it is not idle property waiting to be monetised. It is part of the school’s living structure. This includes sports fields and open spaces reserved for future growth.
Its warning is about a commercial estate inside or beside a working secondary school. This could erode the controlled learning environment. It might also shrink expansion space and weaken the institution’s long-term future.
The figures attached to the project have made the controversy even hotter. According to FGCKOSA’s breakdown, Plot A measures 50 by 100 and would contain 194 units. They are priced at ₦70 million each. Plot B measures 100 by 100 and would contain 189 units. They are priced at ₦120 million each.
The association says that places the projected value at ₦36. It believes that the scale of 26 billion points far more to private real-estate gain. This is seen as outweighing any direct benefit for the school.
The group has also raised safety and planning alarms. It explains that introducing a mixed-use estate so close to a federal secondary school could expose students to avoidable security risks. This proximity might disturb the disciplined environment required for teaching and learning.
FGCKOSA argues that Kano State has plenty of alternative land for development. There is “no justification” for taking from an existing educational institution. Other sites clearly exist.
The legal pressure point is the PPP process itself. The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission says the ICRC Act is the principal legislation regulating PPP contracts over Federal Government infrastructure. Its published pipeline shows that land-value swap models do exist in Nigeria.
That means the real issue is not whether such a structure can exist in law. The focus is on whether this particular deal was transparently prepared. It also needs to be properly approved and correctly authorised.
That question matters because the story is already political. On 5 April 2026, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf made a public pledge. He promised to sustain partnership with the Federal Government under President Tinubu. This aims to attract federal interventions for Kano.
Against that backdrop, the silence from the Federal Ministry of Education is becoming more damaging by the hour. As of press time, the ministry had not responded to the allegations.
FGCKOSA says it will now demand full disclosure of every agreement with Pluck Global Company Ltd. This includes the approval trail. It also includes the contractual terms.
It has also warned about defective paperwork. If issues are found, it will pursue legal action. The matter will be escalated to anti-corruption agencies.
In the meantime, it has advised prospective investors to stay away from any land or property tied to the project. It says it will launch a ₦5 billion development fund in June 2026 as an alternative route to school growth.
The bigger issue is not just whether a school lost land. Can a federal ministry, under political heat and without visible public consultation, quietly repurpose public educational space? Can they still expect trust when it is for a commercial project?
The Kano land-swap row will keep looking like a secret deal wrapped in public power. This perception will remain until the documents are released and the approval chain is laid bare. Alumni describe it as such.
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