The Federal Capital Territory Administration will begin the physical takeover of 4,794 properties on Monday, May 26, 2025, whose land titles were cancelled due to non-payment of ground rent over a period of 10 to 43 years.
At a joint press briefing on Friday, Mr. Lere Olayinka, the FCT Minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and Social Media, Mr. Chijioke Nwankwoeze, the Director of Land Administration, and Mr. Mukhtar Galadima, the Director of Development Control, made the announcement.
According to the FCTA, the titles were revoked in compliance with the Land Use Act, namely Section 28, Subsections 5(a) and (b), which gives the government the authority to recover land for terms of occupancy infractions.
According to the officials, the government will begin exercising its right of ownership on the properties located across key districts in the Federal Capital City, including Central Area, Garki I and II, Wuse I and II, Asokoro, Maitama, and Guzape.
“Ownership of the revoked 4,794 properties in the Central Area, Garki I and II, Wuse I and II, Asokoro, Maitama, and Guzape districts had already reverted to the FCTA.
“And as from Monday, next week, the government will begin to exercise its rights of ownership on the affected landed properties.
“As usual, 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,” they stated.
Recall that on March 18th 2025, the FCTA announced that 4,794 properties, part of a larger list of 8,375 properties in default, among which was the National Secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party currently under construction in the Central Business District, had failed to pay ground rent for at least a decade, with some defaults running as far back as 43 years,
The administration disclosed that the property owners owed more than N6.96 billion in ground rent, leading to the revocation.
However the Wike-led administration had also granted a 21-day deadline within which those who owed the rents under 10 years could make payments, after which the titles will also be revoked.
Speaking during the press conference, the Director of Land, Nwankwoeze, explained that the grace period had elapsed and that the titles will be revoked in line with extant laws of the FCT.
“Relevant agencies of the FCTA are already compiling records of compliance and non-compliance with this directive, with a view to acting accordingly.
“It is important to state that payment of Ground Rent on landed properties in the FCT is founded on extant legislation.
“It is clearly stipulated in the terms and conditions of the grant of Right of Occupancy, and it is due for payment on the first day of January, each year, without demand,” he stated.
Responding to reports that some of the property owners had taken legal action, Nwankwoeze clarified that “there was no court decision on the revocation, and as such, the FCTA is not restricted in the discharge of its lawful functions on the affected properties.”
Galadima, Director of Development Control, stated that the exercise would involve sealing off the affected properties and restricting access to them from Monday, and that the FCTA will decide what to do with the affected properties in due course.
The initial default list was drawn from ten of the oldest districts in Phase 1 of the Federal Capital City, covering: Central Area District (Cadastral Zone A00), Garki I (Cadastral Zone A01), Wuse I (Cadastral Zone A02), Garki II (Cadastral Zone A03), and Asokoro (Cadastral Zone A04).
Others are Maitama (Cadastral Zone A05 and A06), Wuse II (Cadastral Zones A07 and A08), and Guzape (Cadastral Zone A09).
