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FCTA unhappy over non–payment of ground rent, failure to develop plots, violation of land use

Revocation of land titles in Abuja is imminent as the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) is angry over violations of the contract terms by allottees of various plots in the nation’s capital.

Consequently, it has vowed to commence the revocation of the titles as soon as possible to serve as deterrent to others.

Director of Land Administration, Alhaji Adamu Jibrin, told Journalist that the decision became imperative following the continued breach in the terms of contract by allottees of plots within the territory, despite several warnings by the administration.

Some of the reasons according to him include: non-payment of the annual statutory ground rent, violation of land use as well as the failure to develop plots within the serviced areas after a reasonable period of time.

“One of the grounds for the revocation on tittles is non-payment of ground rent. Of recent, we have compiled the list of all our debtors who have failed to pay.

We have sent in circulars and even through electronic media. For those that we have their addresses, we have also sent our bills to them through courier services.

“The ground rent is a statutory annual payment that must be complied with by all allottees. We have sensitised electronically and otherwise for the debtors to come and pay and some are responding.

“Also, the violation of Land Use is not allowed. In the Masterplan of Abuja, each area is earmarked for a designated use, so if you are allocated a plot for let’s say commercial use, you have no right to construct residential or industrial building there.

Before now, the Department of Development Control tried to accommodate them by charging the violation fee but it was wrong and now we have stopped it.

“Now the options are either outright removal or outright reversion to the designated use. So, a plot must be developed for the purpose for which it was allocated or earmarked for.

“We don’t give lands to speculators, it’s for development to increase the economic activities in the city. In most cases, there are places that we have provided infrastructure and it’s wrong to allow a plot to lay fallow when the area has been serviced. If government spends money to provide infrastructures, then we should utilise the facilities.

“That is why, all those undeveloped plots in the service districts, in fact, if not for the COVID-19 pandemic, we would have revoked them now because we have made several publications.

We have informed people to go ahead and develop because it’s part of the terms of contract we had with them. If the place is serviced for two to three years and you don’t develop, we’ll take it over because we have serious developers who have the capacity. If you have the capacity then we’ll allocate lands to you.”

However, he called on every Nigerians that are either indebted to the administration or has flouted any of the terms of contract to do the needful just as he reiterated that flouting any of such agreement is a ground for revocation of title.

Source: dailytimes