City Info
Wike Revokes PDP National Secretariat Land in Abuja over Unpaid Ground Rents
- Wike announced that the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) will take immediate possession of the party’s secretariat until all bills are settled.
- PDP has not paid the ground rents from January 1, 2006 to January 1, 2025, despite repeated reminders in various media outlets.
- A total of 8,375 property owners had outstanding balances, with 4,794 land titles defaulting on ground rent payments for 10 years or more.
Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has revoked the land title of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) national secretariat in Abuja.
Eko Hot Blog reports that in a letter dated March 13, 2025, Wike cited the party’s failure to pay the annual ground rents due on the property for 20 years as the reason for the revocation.
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According to Chijioke Nwankwoeze, Director of Land Administration at the FCT, the PDP has not paid the ground rents from January 1, 2006 to January 1, 2025, despite repeated reminders in various media outlets.
Wike’s decision has sent shockwaves through Nigeria’s political landscape, as the PDP, the main opposition party, is now left without a national headquarters in the capital city.
The letter read, “I have been directed to refer to the above Right of Occupancy granted to PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP), NATIONAL SECRETARIAT and inform you that the Minister of Federal Capital Territory has in the exercise of powers conferred on him under the Land Use Act No. 6 of 1978, Cap. L5, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, revoked your rights, interests and privileges over Plot No. 243 within Central Area, Cadastral Zone A00, Abuja.
“The revocation is in view of your continued contravention of the terms and conditions of grant of the Right of Occupancy by failing to pay the annual ground rents due on the property for twenty (20) years, from 1st of January 2006 to 1st of January 2025. This is despite the many publications made by the FCT Administration since 2023 in several national dailies and on electronic media requesting all allottees of plots in the Federal Capital Territory to pay up every outstanding bill and ground rent on their property.
“You would please note that the said breaches by PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP), NATIONAL SECRETARIAT (MISC 81346) run contrary to the provisions of Section 28, Subsection 5 (a) and (b) of the Land Use Act.”
Wike announced that the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) will take immediate possession of the party’s secretariat until all bills are settled.
This decision aligns with Wike’s recent move to revoke 4,794 land titles in the FCT due to unpaid ground rents totaling N6.9bn over the past 40 years.
A statement by Wike’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, indicated that property owners in various districts, including Central Area, Garki I and II, Wuse I and II, Asokoro, Maitama, and Guzape, had failed to meet their financial obligations for ground rent.
As of Monday, a total of 8,375 property owners had outstanding balances, with 4,794 land titles defaulting on ground rent payments for 10 years or more.
“It should be noted that the FCTA made numerous publications in national newspapers and announcements on broadcast media since 2023, calling on defaulters to pay up all outstanding bills and ground rents. All these yielded little response, as several allottees failed to pay.
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“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.”
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