By Ben Adoga
The FCT Administration has said that it is set to revoke land allocations in high brow Asokoro and Maitama areas of the FCT following the over N29 billion debt from grand rents

In a statement issued by Muhammed Hazat Sule, FCTA Director of Information and Communications, a total sum of N29, 506, 643, 953. 98 is owed the FCTA.

The Director doubles as Chairman, Media and Publicity sub committee of the Committee.

As the work of the Coordinating Committee on the Recovery of Outstanding Ground Rents of N29,506,643,943.98 owed the FCT as ground rent of which main defaulters are in high brow Asokoro and Maitama area of the FCT, Sule stated that already a committee had been but in place to commence action.

“The Committee is already fine-tuning legal documentations to take all property owners, who have failed to pay, despite repeated warnings to court for prosecution, revocation, or outright forfeiture.

“The Committee in the process of doing its work has discovered that bulk of the debtors are titleholders in Asokoro, Industrial Area II and Maitama Districts, considered to be highbrow areas in the nation’s capital city, Abuja.

Accordingly, property owners in Asokoro District alone constitutes 10.67 percent of the Ground Rents defaulters, while the titleholders in Industrial Area II and Maitama Districts comprise 9.43 percent and 9.29 percent respectively.”

It may be recalled that the FCT Permanent Secretary, Mr. Adesola Olusade recently inaugurated a debt recovery committee with the mandate to recover the outstanding debts owed the FCT Administration with particular interest in ground rents and other sundry fees in the Land Administration Department as well as other stakeholder’s departments.

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Property owners in other districts such as, Central Business Districts, Industrial Area I & Extension, as well as Wuse I & II are owing the Administration to the tune of 8.21 percent, 5.18 percent, 5.1 percent, and 4.81 percent respectively.

Titleholders in Garki I & II, Katampe and Jabi districts are in default of 3.4 percent, 3 percent, 2.21 percent, and 2.15 percent respectively.

Property owners in other districts like Kukwaba, Gwarinpa I, Gudu, Kado, Karmo, Katampe Extention, Utako, Mabushi, Durumi, Daki-Biyu, Guzape, Jahi, Dutse Wuye and Institutions & Research are owing various degrees of percentages.

The Director, Information noted that “it is more honourable and responsible for property owners to rush to clear their outstanding debts because it is not going to be business as usual as the government needs these funds to fast-track the infrastructural development of the Federal Capital Territory.”