By PHILIP YATAI

Mr Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has vowed to reallocate all revoked lands after the expiration of the grace period given to affected allottees on Jan. 3.

Wike stated this after he inspected the ongoing construction Outer Southern Expressway (OSEX), Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal and Saburi I and II road, in Abuja on Tuesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Wike had on Dec. 20, given owners of the 762 revoked plots of land in Maitama two-week grace to pay for their Certificate of Occupancy (C of O).

The owners of the plots, located in Maitama II, Cadastral Zone A10, Abuja, are expected to pay for their C of O on or before Jan. 3, or risk final revocation.

When asked whether the grace period would be extended, the minister said, ?We will not. I don?t think we will want to give another grace.

?After it expires, we will reallocate all those lands to other people who are interested,? he said.

The minister noted that Nigerians don?t comply with extant laws, adding that the land allocations were done more than 10 years ago.

He explained that that list of the defaulters were generated by the previous administration, adding that what the Land Department and the Abuja Geographic Information System did was to generate them from the system.

He said that Right of Occupancy was just an allocation of land and the allottee would be expected to pay for C of O, adding that if the allottee had paid, he would have a receipt.

?So, when you don?t have the C of O, it means that you have not paid.

?If there are people who have paid, like some people say they have, and they have attached their receipt to show that they have paid, in such cases, yes, there will be a remedy.

?As to whether there will be another grace, I don?t think we will do that,? he insisted.

He pointed out the FCT does not have anything other than properties to tax for development projects.

?Our interest is not to have the lands back; our interest is for the allottees to pay so that we can use the fund for the development of the FCT.

?Now, we are talking about roads. How do we get the roads done without people complying and paying?? he asked. (NAN)

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