Owners of the 762 land plots in Maitama II District, Cadastral Zone, A10, Abuja, have been given a new two-week deadline by Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike to pay for their Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) or risk having their allotment revoked.
His Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, revealed this in a statement on Friday.
According to him, Wike reaffirmed that the main goal was to persuade people to pay the government what they owed rather than forfeit their land.
Recall that a list of 3,273 allottees and title holders who had not yet paid for their C-of-O was released on October 5, 2024. They have two weeks to settle their debts or risk having their Right of Occupancy (R-of-O) titles revoked. A total of 2,511 of the 3,273 complied, leaving 762, according to the statement.
A notice of withdrawal of the 762 defaulters’ R-of-O titles was released yesterday. Many of the impacted allottees have since promised to pay, and as the government’s main goal is to guarantee payment, a two-week grace period has been granted.
According to the terms of Section 28 of the Land Use Act of 1978, the 762 allottees and the 614 other individuals who have unpaid C-of-O will therefore have until January 3, 2025, to make payment or have their R-of-O titles revoked. “After January 3, 2025, no further extension and withdrawal of the R-of-O titles of defaulters will be final.”
This new directive follows Wike’s revocation of the properties of former President Muhammad Buhari, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume within the same day.
The revocation, which was due to non-payment of the Certificate of Occupancy, also affected 759 other notable individuals and organisations in Maitama II, Abuja.
Additionally, the minister threatened to seize the lands of former Senate Presidents Iyorchia Ayu and Ameh Ebute, the Chief Whip of the Senate, Tahir Monguno, and Kingsley Chinda, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, to collect unpaid fees from the FCTA for a certificate of occupancy that was not paid within two weeks.
The minister’s revocation comes months after he repeatedly urged FCT citizens, especially those living in the capital’s hybrid neighbourhoods, to pay unpaid FCTA payments or face having their lands revoked.
