President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Monday, stepped in to offer relief to institutions and organisations that defaulted on ground rent payments, temporarily halting the sealing of 4,794 properties by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

At an emergency press briefing yesterday evening, the Director of Land Administration in the FCTA, Chijioke Nwankwoeze, disclosed that “by Mr. President’s intervention, holders of the affected properties now have 14 days to settle the outstanding ground rents, with associated penalties.”

He explained that defaulters would pay a penalty of N5 million in addition to the owed ground rent for properties in the Central Area. “Those in Maitama, Asokoro, Wuse II, and Guzape Districts will pay the sum of N3 million as a penalty, in addition to the ground rent owed,” he added.

For properties in Wuse I, Garki I, and Garki II, the penalty is N2 million, in addition to the outstanding rent. The FCTA also directed property buyers who have yet to register their interests by obtaining the mandatory Minister’s Consent and registering their Deeds of Assignment to do so within 14 days at the FCT Department of Land Administration.

“The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, CON, has granted a 14-day grace period to all property holders in the FCT to pay up their Right of Occupancy (R-of-O) and Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) bills or risk revocation of those titles,” Nwankwoeze said.

He further advised property owners in the FCT to ensure timely payment of all bills and charges to enable the government to carry out developmental projects for the benefit of the people.

Earlier on Monday, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) had decried the invasion of two of its offices by Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) officials over alleged non-payment of ground rent. Similarly, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was forced to relocate its planned caucus meeting to the Bauchi State Government Lodge in Abuja following the sealing of its national secretariat.

The FCTA also sealed the premises of Access Bank and Total Energy in Abuja. According to Chijoke Nwankwoeze, the FCTA’s Director of Land, the affected properties have reverted to the FCTA. He noted that the exercise marks the beginning of a larger campaign to repossess more than 4,794 revoked properties across the Federal Capital Territory.

Nwankwoeze disclosed that the FIRS building in Wuse Zone 5 had failed to pay ground rent for 25 years, while the Access Bank building, located on Plot No. 2456, Wuse I, Cadastral Zone A02, and owned by Rana Tahir Furniture Nig. Ltd had defaulted for 34 years.

The enforcement team also sealed Total Energy’s premises on Plot 534, Cadastral Zone A02, Wuse Zone 1. The property, owned by Total Plc, had accrued unpaid ground rent for over 10 years.

Speaking on the development, the Director of Development Control, Mr Mukhtar Galadima, explained that the action was part of efforts to take possession of the properties following their revocation in March.

Galadima recalled that the FCTA had previously announced plans to reclaim over 4,000 properties revoked due to unpaid ground rent exceeding a decade.

“So, today is just to comply with what we have said—that we are going to take over all the revoked properties, starting with Plot 534, Cadastral Zone A02, Wuse Zone 1, owned by Total Plc,” Galadima stated.

Addressing a press conference at the Revenue House in Abuja yesterday, the Director, Facility Management Department of FIRS, Mr Tyofa Abeghe, Special Adviser on Infrastructure, Kunle Ogidi, and the Media Team (Dare Adekanmbi, Collins Omokaro, and Arabirin Aderonke Atoyebi) all demanded an apology from the FCTA officials for the unjustifiable invasion, saying they acted in error.

Also, President Bola Tinubu met behind closed doors with the FIRS Executive Chairman, Dr. Zacch Adedeji, with sources suggesting the meeting aimed to resolve the tension and ensure smooth inter-agency cooperation in the interest of national revenue generation.

Refuting the allegation that FIRS owed 25 years’ ground rent on two of its offices at No. 12 and 14 Sokode Crescent, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja, Abeghe said nothing could be further from the truth as FIRS had paid the said money.

He said a demand notice from Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS) dated September 2023, asking for ground rent on the properties, was honoured with a payment of N2,364,003 three months after the notice was issued.

Frustrated that the payment had not been receipted and a treasury receipt issued, Abeghe wrote a letter dated February 19, 2024, requesting that the payment be confirmed and receipted. The letter, which was duly acknowledged by the front desk office of AGIS, was neither responded to nor was the payment receipted.

In his own remarks, the Special Adviser on Infrastructure, Ogidi, condemned what he described as administrative rascality by the FCTA officials, adding that they would have known the ground rent had been paid if they had done due diligence.

“As a law-abiding agency, FIRS does not owe FCTA ground rent on any of its offices in the FCT or anywhere else, including the ones invaded by these officials.

“For clarity, on the two offices sealed, which are located on Plot 627, Sokode Crescent, a sum of N2,364,003.26 covering ground rent on the properties for the fiscal years 2000 to 2024 has since been paid.

“FIRS has about seven offices in Sokode Crescent alone. Why are we going to pay ground rent on others and leave only two? Does that make sense?” asked the Special Adviser, Media, Dare Adekanmbi.

In their remarks, Omokaro and Arabirin Atoyebi stressed the need to nurture and strengthen inter-agency collaboration to avoid future occurrences, while also apologising to the members of staff and taxpayers who were traumatised during the invasion.

Meanwhile, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, justified sealing the PDP national secretariat alongside 4,973 other properties for violating ground rent payment laws.

At exactly 2:06 p.m., FCTA staff locked the entrance gate of Wadata Plaza, the PDP’s national secretariat in Wuse Zone 5, Abuja. The action followed the FCTA’s announcement on Friday of its intention to reclaim properties affected by the revocation of 4,794 land titles due to non-payment of ground rent over periods ranging from 10 to 43 years.

Briefing journalists shortly after the exercise, the minister, who spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, explained, “We are not here for politics. If you are talking about political witch-hunt, we have been to Ibro Hotels, we have been to Access Bank, we have been to FIRS, we have been to Total Petrol Station, we are also still going to other places, and tomorrow we will go to other places.”

He said, “This exercise will continue as long as we are able to conclude the taking possession of those over 4,000 properties. So, are we also going to say all those ones that I mentioned are for politics?”

Also, the Director of Land in the FCTA, Chijioke Nwankwoeze, said the property holders were duly notified. “Senator Samaila Mamman Kofi was duly served the revocation notice and, out of an abundance of caution, we also came here and pasted the revocation notice served on Samaila Mamman Kofi at his Kaduna address, the address on record.

“Samaila Mamman Kofi is the owner of the property, and the address we have in our records for him is that of Kaduna, and we duly served him. This is a copy of the revocation notice and the evidence of service. This is him, served since the 14th of March 2025, and a copy of this was duly pasted at the gate of this building.”

On the FIRS’s claim that it had paid the ground rent for the sealed building, Nwankwoeze said, “No, we keep good records. In this case, we are talking about 28 years. The owner of this property, Samaila Mamman Kofi, owed 28 years’ ground rent. And then FIRS is 25 years. So we keep proper records.

“When you pay your ground rent, you will have to be issued with a receipt of payment. Let the FIRS present the receipt of payment issued by the Lands Department or the FCTA, showing that they paid ground rent for 25 years on the property we went to. So those claims are not completely true.

“Some of them, like FIRS, claim they own the property. But in our records, they don’t. If you buy property, you have to register your interest. The property which FIRS is occupying, where we just sealed before coming here, is owned by Fortunate Case Limited (not sure about this name). When we got there, they said they own the property. But obviously, they didn’t do what they needed to do so that they will be recognised as the owners.”