The Police and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are among government agencies, top individuals, embassies, and other categories of people and institutions that risk losing their Certificates of Occupancy (CofOs) next week due to default in payment of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) ground rent.
The number of plots of land involved is 3,383, according to a public notice published yesterday in this newspaper by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
Last week, the FCTA moved to seal-off the buildings in default, including the Wadata Plaza headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but President Bola Ahmed Tinubu intervened and granted a 14 days moratorium.
The ground rent default covers a period between 2014 and 2024
The affected properties are primarily in high-brow areas, of Central Area Garki I and II, Asokoro, Maitama, Wuse I and Wuse II and Guzape.
Some of the defaulters are key ministries, diplomatic missions, banks, religious organisations, private firms and prominent individuals.
Among the government agencies are: Nigerian Navy, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Debt Management Office (DMO), Federal High Court (FHC) and National Industrial Court (NIC).
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Others are liaison offices of states such as Kwara, Benue, Osun, Zamfara, Katsina, Imo, and Enugu.
The foreign embassies include: South Africa, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Kuwait, Zimbabwe, Canada, India, Ethiopia, Sudan, Mauritania, Indonesia, Venezuela, and North Korea.
The defaulters in the private sector are: Huawei Technologies Nigeria Ltd; UACN Property Development Company Plc; First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Plc.; Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.; Standard Construction Ltd; Baram Nigeria Ltd and Elbe Pharma Ltd.
Also on the list is Heritage Press Limited, situated at Central Area and Abuja Investment & Property Development Company Ltd, an agency of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) ministry.
The religious bodies owing ground rent include: Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja; the Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim Church; Abuja National Mosque Council; Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Nigeria and Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI).
Notable among the individual defaulters, including a former FCT Minister Aisha Alhassan; Mathew Nwagwu; Alexander Okafor, Gladys Ibanga and Jimoh Oyedele Ibrahim.
The real estate and investment firms are Neo-Vista Property Development Ltd, TRCC Nigeria Ltd, Vibrant Insurance Brokers and Next International Nigeria Ltd.
The FCTA reminded the defaulters that annual ground rent payments are mandatory under the terms of their Rights of Occupancy (RofOs) and CofOs and must be paid in advance starting from January 1 each year.
The notice reads: “All allottees and property owners who have not paid ground rent up to 2024 are hereby given fourteen (14) days from the date of this publication to settle their arrears.
“Failure to comply will result in revocation or withdrawal of affected land titles. Payments are to be made via the Remita e-payment platform, directed to the account of the “FCT Department of Land Administration.
“Property owners are advised to visit https://remita.net, select ‘Pay TSA & States,’ then ‘Federal Capital Territory Admin,’ followed by ‘FCT Department of Land Administration,’ and finally ‘FCC Ground Rent.”
With the seven days to the end of the 14-day ultimatum given through the President, allottees are rushing to pay their Ground Rent.
Our correspondent who visited the Department of Land Administration at the FCTA confirmed how property owners have been rushing to pay through the official remita.
A source at the FCTA told The Nation that “many affected property owners have complied while payment is ongoing.”