· Five law firms contracted
· Court process starts August ending
The FCT Administration, FCTA, seems poised to make good its threat of prosecuting property owners who have failed to pay up their ground rents accruing to the tune of over N29 billion.
The administration had in June this year set up the FCT Coordinating Committee on the Recovery of Outstanding Ground Rents with the mandate to recover over N29 billion owed the FCTA by property owners.
Weeks into its mandate, the committee revealed that property owners in the highbrow areas of Asokoro, Idu Industrial Area II and Maitama Districts were the highest debtors, with a cumulative debt portfolio of N8.677 billion between them.
Already, a total of 430 individuals and organisations are said to have been profiled and listed for possible prosecution in the first batch of the list of debtors.
Though the names of the debtors are yet to be made public, fillers coming from the committee indicate that the first batch of the 430 listed debtors will be brought before a court before the end of August 2022.
The FCT Coordinating Committee on the Recovery of Outstanding Ground Rents has the mandate to recover the outstanding debts owed the FCT Administration with particular interest on ground rents and other sundry fees in land administration as well as other land related departments.
According to the chairman, media and publicity sub-committee, Dr. Muhammad Sule, the move has become necessary due to the failure of titleholders to pay the prescribed land charges, despite several appeals and notices served on the affected property owners.
Sule, in a statement disclosed that the coordinating committee has hired the services of five law firms for diligent prosecution of the defaulting titleholders.
According to him, letters serving as last warning to such defaulters are being dispatched, as the government is committed to recover every dime owed the administration.
He added that the committee was fine-tuning legal documentations to take all property owners who fail to pay, despite repeated warnings to court for prosecution, revocation, or outright forfeiture.
The committee in an earlier statement disclosed that 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.
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.
Property owners in other districts like Kukwaba, Gwarinpa I, Gudu, Kado, Karmo, Katampe Extention, Utako, Mabushi, Durumi, Daki-Biyu, Guzape, Jahi, Dutse and Wuye are owing various degrees of percentages.
Sule had earlier explained that the administration is forced to adopt the measures of prosecuting defaulting landlords due to the non-compliance by the affected individuals and corporate organizations.
“Government, therefore, wishes that the affected debtors will come forward and clear their outstanding debts to avoid prosecution, revocation, and forfeiture of their property.
“The recovery committee has already swung into action and perfected modalities towards achieving this onerous task, because the government needs resources to execute essential infrastructural projects in the Federal Capital Territory.”
