The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has issued a warning to 3,273 allottees, including prominent Nigerians and corporate organisations, to settle their outstanding payments for Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) within two weeks or risk revocation. The affected plots are located in the Maitama District of Abuja.

Among those listed are high-profile individuals including Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Bukola Saraki, former Senate President; and Rochas Okorocha, former Governor of Imo State. Also included are serving and former lawmakers, ministers, and even children of former President Muhammadu Buhari, Yusuf and Zahra Buhari, according to Premium Times.

The FCTA cited infrastructural development in the district as the reason for the notice, emphasizing that failure to pay outstanding land bills, rents, fees, and charges within the stipulated period will result in the withdrawal of Rights of Occupancy and reallocation of the lands.

This move is seen as a fresh attempt to sanitise land administration in the territory, which has been plagued by corruption, land speculation, and bureaucratic delays. In August, the FCTA issued a four-month window for all landholders to pay their fees or face revocation of their titles under the Land Use Act.

According to Muhammad Sule, FCTA director of information and communication, the administration is ?deeply concerned? by the widespread failure to settle land processing fees, hindering its ability to fund critical infrastructure projects in the capital.

Ekarikpong Ukpanah, director of the land administration department, emphasised that non-payment is not just an administrative oversight but a violation of the terms of the land grants and the provisions of the Land Use Act. (BusinessDay: Text, Excluding Headline)

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