The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) will, from Wednesday, November 26, 2025, embark on a recent spherical of enforcement in opposition to property homeowners who’ve didn’t settle floor lease obligations, land use conversion penalties, and long-outstanding statutory costs tied to their Rights of Occupancy (R-of-O) and Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O).
The renewed clampdown, introduced in Abuja yesterday by the Senior Particular Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the FCT Minister, Lere Olayinka, marks the top of a number of grace intervals earlier granted to hundreds of defaulting title holders throughout the territory.
Based on Olayinka, the newest motion follows the expiration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Could 26, 2025 intervention, which accredited a 14-day window for the fee of accrued floor lease arrears—some spanning over 4 a long time.
That grace lapsed on June 9, greater than 5 months in the past. Equally, the Administration had, in September, printed a sequence of notices throughout nationwide dailies saying a reviewed land use/goal clause for properties in premium districts akin to Asokoro, Maitama, Garki and Wuse, attaching a violation price of ₦5 million for unapproved land use conversion.
A closing 14-day extension on this class ends on Monday, November 24.
“With these home windows now absolutely expired, enforcement begins with out additional delay,” Olayinka mentioned.
He added that the train targets not solely those that have didn’t pay required charges, but in addition people and organisations occupying properties bought from others however who haven’t regularised possession by acquiring the obligatory Minister’s Consent or registering their Deeds of Project.
A Lengthy Path of Defaults
The upcoming enforcement builds on an earlier, controversial part of operations in Could when FCTA job groups moved to seal a number of properties together with the nationwide secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Wuse Zone 5, for persistent non-payment of floor lease.
That motion sparked outrage inside the PDP, whose then Performing Nationwide Chairman, Umar Damagum, described the shutdown as “the peak of irresponsibility” and “an assault on democracy.”
Talking after a Nationwide Caucus assembly, Damagum had fumed:
“Our workplace has been sealed. That is the peak of irresponsibility from this authorities. If they’re encouraging it, we won’t take it flippantly. They will come and arrest all of us. We condemn this in totality.”
Nonetheless, investigations inside the social gathering painted a extra advanced image. A senior PDP official, who requested anonymity, had admitted the social gathering was in arrears however blamed lacking documentation.
“The property housing our social gathering has no particulars,” the official mentioned. “There was no correct switch of possession. FCTA is correct; we’re owing floor lease. However even when we need to pay now, we can’t, as a result of the paperwork required don’t exist.”
However Olayinka, in defending the closure of the PDP secretariat on the time, insisted the motion was “strictly administrative and according to the regulation.”
“We’re not right here for politics,” he had mentioned. “We sealed Ibro Inns, Entry Financial institution, FIRS, Complete Petrol Station, and plenty of others. Are these political targets too?
The Director of Land Administration, Chijioke Nwakwoeze, had additionally set the file straight on the dimensions of defaults:
“The proprietor of the PDP property owed 28 years of floor lease. The FIRS property owed 25 years. We hold correct information. Let any defaulter current receipts if they’ve paid.”
He additional revealed a sample of disputed possession claims and identified that
“Some organisations declare possession of properties they occupy, however our information present in any other case. You will need to register your curiosity. When you don’t, you aren’t recognised.”
The FCTA had earlier introduced it will start takeover procedures on 4,794 properties revoked for non-payment of floor lease amounting to ₦6.96 billion over intervals starting from 10 to 43 years.
Lots of the affected property belong to personal corporations, authorities companies, and rich people.
On Could 26, in the course of the preliminary enforcement part, Nwakwoeze confirmed that the President’s intervention had briefly halted mass takeovers by granting a recent 14-day fee window.
With deadlines now expired, the Administration says there isn’t any turning again.
“From Wednesday, November 26, the FCTA will start enforcement on all classes of defaulters,” Olayinka reiterated yesterday.
“This contains floor lease, land use change charges, R-of-O, C-of-O costs, and unregistered transfers of possession.”
The FCTA has vowed to maintain the train till all excellent obligations are recovered and correct documentation restored to the Abuja land registry, warning that no particular person or organisation—regardless of how distinguished—will probably be exempt.
As Abuja braces for one more wave of property seals and potential authorized battles, the Administration insists the train is crucial to sanitising the town’s land administration system and guaranteeing compliance with statutory obligations lengthy ignored by many title holders.
