Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has revoked land titles belonging to former President Muhammadu Buhari, former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume.
Recall that the Federal Capital Territory Administration, (FCTA), in October had threatened to revoke the Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-Os)
of plots of land owned by prominent individuals and corporate organisations in Abuja.
In two separate notices published by the FCTA yesterday, the minister revoked the ownership of 762 plots of land in the highbrow Maitama District over non-payment of statutory fees, adding that the affected persons also failed to pay for their C-of-O documents for the seized plots.
Among those whose C-of-O were revoked are the Muhammadu Buhari Trust Foundation, owned by former President Muhammadu Buhari; former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, and his wife, Regina Akume; and Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani.
The notice stated: 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payment for their Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) bills that their Right of Occupancy to the land/property has been withdrawn.
This action was taken under Section 28 of the Land Use Act of 1978, which empowers the minister to revoke rights of occupancy for non-compliance with payment obligations or breach of other allocation terms.
Former and serving lawmakers on the list include Senate Chief Whip, Tahir Monguno; former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chibudom Nwuche; former Senate Leader, Teslim Folarin; former House of Reps member, Nnenna Ukeje; and former Senators Andy Uba and Smart Adeyemi.
Some corporate entities also had their allocation revoked. BUAs allocation of plot 335 in Katampe was listed, Julius Berger Nigeria also lost plot 2217 in Katampe, while Honeywell Construction Limited lost plot 653 in Idu industrial area.
The FCTA also threatened to withdraw the Rights of Occupancy of 614 other individuals and companies, if they failed to pay outstanding bills for their plots within two weeks.
The non-payment of statutory fees by landowners are considered violations for which allocated plots can be revoked. Recall that last November, Wike said he would not mind hurting the rich in the reforms he was introducing in the territory. He also pegged the cost of obtaining a C-of-O at N5 million, with a four month window for payment.
The Minister had vowed to end multiple allocations of same plot to different people.
