The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, Nyesom Wike, has revoked ownership of 762 plots of land in Abuja’s upscale Maitama district due to non-payment of statutory fees.
A public notice issued by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Thursday revealed that the affected individuals and entities failed to settle their certificate of occupancy (C-of-O) bills.
Notable figures affected by the revocation include former President Muhammadu Buhari and former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Walter Onnoghen.
The FCTA also warned an additional 614 plot owners, comprising individuals and companies, to pay their outstanding bills within two weeks or risk losing their rights of occupancy (R-of-O).
“The Federal Capital Territory Administration wishes to inform the allottee(s)/title holder(s) of plots of land in Maitama 1 who have failed to make payment for their certificate of occupancy (C-of-O) bills that their right of occupancy to the land/property has been withdrawn,” the FCTA notice stated.
The action was taken under Section 28 of the Land Use Act of 1978, which grants the minister power to revoke occupancy rights over unpaid obligations or breaches of allocation terms.
Names on the revocation list include the Muhammadu Buhari Trust Foundation; former CJN Walter Onnoghen; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume; his wife Regina; and Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani.
Others are Senate Chief Whip, Tahir Monguno; former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chibudom Nwuche; former Senate Leader, Teslim Folarin; former House of Representatives member, Nnenna Ukeje; and former senators Andy Uba and Smart Adeyemi.
This move came as part of Wike’s broader strategy to ensure that statutory obligations are met by property owners in Abuja, the FCTA said.
In November 2023, Wike reduced the cost of obtaining a C-of-O to N3.5 million following public backlash over the initial fee.
He had earlier pegged the cost of obtaining the document at N5 million, based on the recommendations of a task force set up to recover land use contravention fees in the FCT.
However, the minister’s decision did not go down well with many of the city’s residents, who believed the new fee would stifle their desire to own land in the city.
ICIR
