Tinubu Gives PDP, Other Defaulters 14 Days To Pay Ground Rent Debt
President Bola Tinubu has intervened in the revocation of 4,794 property titles in Abuja, and granted affected owners a two-week grace period to settle their outstanding ground rent and avoid permanent loss of their assets.
The Federal Capital Territory Administration had earlier began the enforcement exercise on Monday, which targeted properties whose owners had failed to pay ground rent for periods ranging from 10 to 43 years.
The properties include those belonging to government institutions, private corporations, and individuals, signaling a no-exemption policy in the FCTA’s renewed commitment to enforcing land regulations in the Federal Capital City.
According to a statement issued by Chijioke Nwankwoeze, Director of Land Administration, those given the 14-day grace period would be made to pay penalties for default.
He said N5m penalty would be paid for properties in the Central Area, in addition to the owed ground rent. N3m penalty for properties in Maitama, Asokoro, Wuse II, and Guzape, and N2m penalty for those in Wuse I, Garki I, and Garki II.
Also, individuals who purchased properties without obtaining the mandatory Minister’s Consent or who failed to register their Deeds of Assignment are also required to comply within the two-week window.
The FCTA also extended the grace period to all titleholders across the FCT, and warned that failure to settle Right of Occupancy (R-of-O) and Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) charges within 14 days could result in revocation.
This follows the March 18, 2025 revocation of 4,794 land titles across Abuja’s most prominent districts due to long-standing defaults in ground rent payments.
As of that date, the FCTA had identified 8,375 properties in default, with unpaid rents totalling N6.97bn. The affected areas include the Central Area, Garki I and II, Wuse I and II, Asokoro, Maitama, and Guzape.
Earlier, some notable establishments such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) office in Zone 5, Access Bank in Wuse, Total Petrol Station in Zone 5 , Ibro Hotel in Zone 5, PDP headquarters and headquarters of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP)
were sealed by FCTA officials as part of the enforcement process.
Director of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, had warned that the FCTA would exercise its ownership rights by sealing properties and restricting access, while reiterating that the exercise was backed by law under the Land Use Act, Section 28.
The administration assured that it will continue to act without fear or favour, but with the President’s intervention, a final opportunity has been given for compliance before irreversible steps are taken.
The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, had urged all property owners in the territory to regularize their records and pay statutory charges promptly, and stressed that timely compliance is vital for sustaining infrastructure and development projects in the capital city.
Tinubu Gives PDP, Other Defaulters 14 Days To Pay Ground Rent Debt is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
