Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Saturday, visited Nigeria’s elite International Golf and Country Club, in Abuja to inspect the state of facilities, with a promise to carry out extensive renovation works.
The Minister’s visit is coming few months after the club was shut indefinitely on April 26, 2025, following an escalating crisis before the Annual General Meeting to avert the club from plunging into a deeper crisis over the appointment of the Board of Trustees.
Speaking on Saturday, Minister Wike pledged the FCT Administration’s commitment to an extensive renovation of the iconic IBB International Golf and Country Club in Abuja to restore the facility to international standards.
Assistant Director Press in the Minister’s office Rabi Umar in a statement said that Wike met with its newly appointed Board of Trustees where he pledged full renovation works on the facilities of the Club.
The board of the IBB Golf Club is led by the chairperson, Justice Monica Dongban Mensem, who is also the President of the Court of Appeal.
The IBB Golf and Country Club is a significant landmark built approximately three decades ago in Abuja.
Speaking during the meeting which preceded an inspection of the club’s facilities, the FCT Minister stated that the renovation would be executed by Julius Berger, the original designer of the club’s layout in 1991.
He said the renovation of the clubhouse itself will be addressed first on an emergency basis, while other facilities, including the golf course, will follow in phases.
“I will invite Julius Berger because they are the ones that built it and it will be easier for them.
“Anybody who means well for this country, these are the kind of things he must encourage. If you open up the place now, it will continue to degenerate. So, we should put this place in order quickly so that when people come, they have a place where they can relax, and have their drinks. It’s very important”, Barrister Wike said.
Minister Wike used the recently rehabilitated Bola Tinubu International Conference Centre as an example of how such interventions can boost tourism activities and attract investors.
“So many countries make money from tourism. When you make your place a tourist center, it will attract a lot of investors”, he added, defending government expenditure on public facilities.
He further highlighted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to enhancing Abuja’s status to that of other world-class cities, stressing the importance of prompt payment of taxes, including ground rent, to support infrastructure development.
“When they tell you tomorrow to go and pay your ground rent, you get angry, but you forget that this money is required for infrastructure provision. By the time I go and seal your property now, you say, ‘Oh, why is he sealing people’s property?’ But where will the money come from? Will it come from my personal property? And you know that Julius Berger is expensive. So, when we do all these things and you don’t pay your ground rent, I will seal it up”, the Minister stated.
Addressing the recent leadership issues at the club, Wike clarified that while the facility was handed over to the private sector for management, the government remains the owner. He commended the management for their efficiency thus far and emphasized that the government will continue to provide an enabling environment for the club’s success.
“We will not allow anybody to take what belongs to us,” the Minister asserted.
“The government is not a good manager and that’s why the government had to appoint a Board of Trustees which supervises the management committee in running the facility. We have built so many things, including the bus terminals and we can’t run them. We are going to give it out to private persons. But they cannot be the owners. Simply, we said go and manage it and people should have that at the back of their minds”.
Earlier, the President of the Court of Appeal and Chairperson, Board of Trustees, IBB International Golf and Country Club, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, expressed gratitude to the Minister for his visit and his commitment to the provision of infrastructure in the FCT.
While acknowledging the efforts of the founding fathers and pioneer members in maintaining the facilities over three decades and grooming internationally well-sought-after professionals, Justice Dongban–Mensem appealed for urgent support in revitalizing the club’s infrastructure, which serves over 5,000 registered members, highlighting the need for specialized machinery beyond the club’s financial capacity and emphasizing that government intervention would boost tourism and revenue generation, ultimately improving Nigeria’s international standing.
“An intensive intervention of this facility will also boost the economic drive of this nation, which we need to provide alternative means of managing our resources. Our reliance on oil alone has not helped us much. I know of nations in the world that rely entirely on tourism as their means of economic survival.
“When we, by your intervention, can upgrade the facility to the standard that is required, I believe it will also improve the status of Nigerians in the international community”, she stressed.
Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, a member of the Board of Trustees, also commended the FCT Minister’s contributions to sports development and presented a symbolic gift to him in appreciation of his support.
