The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has approved the revocation of 4,794 land titles in the FCT due to non-payment of ground rent, which has accumulated to an estimated N6.9 billion over the past 40 years.
In a statement issued on Monday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, the minister revealed that 8,375 property owners across key districts of the FCT, including the Central Area, Garki I and II, Wuse I and II, Asokoro, Maitama, and Guzape, had failed to pay ground rent for up to 43 years.
The total outstanding amount, according to the statement, is N6,967,980,119, with 4,794 land titles in default for 10 years or more. Olayinka emphasized that this action followed multiple announcements and publications by the FCT Administration since 2023, urging defaulters to pay their outstanding ground rents.
“It should be noted that the FCTA made numerous publications in national newspapers and broadcast media since 2023, urging defaulters to clear their dues. Unfortunately, these calls went largely unheeded,” Olayinka said. “Payment of ground rent is mandated by extant laws and is a condition in the terms of the Right of Occupancy, due every January 1st without demand.”
The statement listed the districts where the affected land titles are located, specifying that 4,794 properties had failed to meet their ground rent obligations for over 10 years, which violates the terms of the Right of Occupancy as stipulated under the Land Use Act.
As a result, the titles of properties that have been in default for 10 years or more have been revoked immediately. Property owners who have defaulted for between one and 10 years are being granted a 21-day grace period to make payments, after which their titles will also be revoked.
In a separate development, Minister Wike directed the Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory Development Authority (FCDA), Richard Dauda, to ensure full compensation payments to residents of the Gishiri Community. This follows a demolition exercise that cleared structures obstructing the construction of Arteria Road N16, linking the community to the Katampe District.
Community members had expressed outrage, claiming that the FCDA’s Department of Resettlement and Compensation paid only N72,000 as compensation, despite the N1.3 billion approved by the minister. They also alleged that non-indigenes were denied compensation entirely, despite having their homes demolished.
In response, Wike instructed Dauda to pay the full N1.3 billion compensation, noting that the amount had been increased from the original N655 million due to the ongoing economic challenges. He also emphasized that compensation should not be based on ethnicity and that non-indigenes were entitled to receive compensation for their properties.
“Go and pay people their money, the exact amount. If I find out that anything is wrong, there will be consequences. The government does not pay compensation based on ethnicity; it is based on property ownership,” Wike declared. “Stop this discriminatory practice. The government will compensate anyone whose property is affected, regardless of their origin.”
