Former President Muhammadu Buhari, former Chief Judge of Nigeria Walter Onnoghen, Speaker of the House of Assembly Tajudeen Abbas and Secretary to the Federal government George Akume have lost ownership of their plots of land in the Federal Capital Territory.
FCT Minister Nyesom Wike ordered the revocation of their plots which is among 762 plots of land in Abuja’s upscale Maitama district due to non-payment of statutory fees. A public notice issued by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Thursday revealed that the affected individuals and entities failed to settle their certificate of occupancy (C-of-O) bills.
The FCTA also warned an additional 614 plot owners, comprising individuals and companies, to pay their outstanding bills within two weeks or risk losing their rights of occupancy (R-of-O).
“The Federal Capital Territory Administration wishes to inform the allottee(s)/title holder(s) of plots of land in Maitama 1 who have failed to make payment for their certificate of occupancy (C-of-O) bills that their right of occupancy to the land/property has been withdrawn,” the FCTA notice stated.
The action was taken under Section 28 of the Land Use Act of 1978, which grants the minister power to revoke occupancy rights over unpaid obligations or breaches of allocation terms.
Names on the revocation list include the Muhammadu Buhari Trust Foundation; former CJN Walter Onnoghen; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume; his wife Regina; and Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani.
Others are Senate Chief Whip, Tahir Monguno; former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chibudom Nwuche; former Senate Leader, Teslim Folarin; former House of Representatives member, Nnenna Ukeje; and former senators Andy Uba and Smart Adeyemi.
This move came as part of Wike’s broader strategy to ensure that statutory obligations are met by property owners in Abuja, the FCTA said.
In November 2023, Wike reduced the cost of obtaining a C-of-O to N3.5 million following public backlash over the initial fee. ICIR
