# Tags

FCTA TO TAKE POSSESSION OF 4,794 PROPERTIES REVOKED OVER NON-PAYMENT OF GROUND RENT

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) will begin taking possession of 4,794 properties revoked over non-payment of Ground Rent for between 10 and 43 years, starting Monday, May 26, 2025. The properties are located in the Central Area, Garki I and II, Wuse I and II, Asokoro, Maitama, and Guzape districts. According to the FCT Minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, ownership of the revoked properties has already reverted to the FCTA. “As from Monday, next week, the government will begin to exercise its rights of ownership on the affected landed properties. This will be done without consideration as to ownership of the affected landed properties. It will be purely in line with extant laws and regulations guiding the process,” Olayinka stated. The Director of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, explained that affected properties will be sealed up and access to them restricted as from Monday. “The FCTA will decide what to do with the affected properties in due course,” Galadima added. The Director of Lands, Chijioke Nwankwoeze, disclosed that the FCTA was already compiling records of compliance and non-compliance of title holders that were in default of payment of Ground Rent for between one and ten years, who were given a 21-day grace period to pay up. “The government will act accordingly as soon as the records are fully compiled and analyzed,” Nwankwoeze said. The FCTA had revoked the land titles in March 2025 due to non-payment of Ground Rent, which contravened the terms and conditions of grant of the Rights of Occupancy. A total of N6,967,980,119 was owed as Ground Rent by 8,375 property owners. The affected properties will be taken over by the FCTA, and the administration will exercise its lawful rights of ownership.

FCT MINISTER REVOKES 4,794 LAND TITLES OVER NON-PAYMENT OF GROUND RENT

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has approved the revocation of 4,794 land titles due to non-payment of Ground Rent for over 40 years. This decision affects property owners in the Central Area, Garki I and II, Wuse I and II, Asokoro, Maitama, and Guzape districts. In a statement, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister, Lere Olayinka, explained that the FCTA made numerous publications in national newspapers and announcements on broadcast media since 2023, calling on defaulters to pay up all outstanding bills and ground rents. However, these efforts yielded little response, as several allottees failed to pay. Olayinka emphasized that payment of Ground Rent on landed properties in the FCT is founded on extant legislation. The affected districts include Central Area District (Cadastral Zone A00), Garki I (Cadastral Zone A01), Wuse I (Cadastral Zone A02), Garki II (Cadastral Zone A03), Asokoro (Cadastral Zone A04), Maitama (Cadastral Zone A05), Maitama (Cadastral Zone A06), Wuse II (Cadastral Zone A07), Wuse II (Cadastral Zone A08), and Guzape (Cadastral Zone A09). As of the end of 2024, a total of N6,967,980,119 is owed as Ground Rent by 8,375 property owners. Lere Olayinka stated that 4,794 land titles are in default of Ground rent payment for 10 years and above, which is in contravention of the terms and conditions of grant of the Rights of Occupancy. Consequently, the titles of the properties in default of payment of Ground Rent for 10 years and above have been revoked forthwith. Olayinka added that a 21-day grace period is given to title holders who are in default of payment of Ground Rent for between one and ten years, after which the affected titles will be revoked. This move is aimed at enforcing compliance with the payment of Ground Rent in the FCT.