By Sarah NEGEDU
Senator Ireti Kingibe has been advised to educate herself on the Land Use Act, instead of displaying ignorance over the recent enforcement of revocation order on land titles whose owners have defaulted on ground rent payment.
The Senator representing the FCT, had in a statement on Wednesday, implied that no property can be lawfully revoked or sealed on account of failure to pay ground rent, maintaining that the penalty for such default is, limited to a fine or surcharge.
Kingibe, in the statement said, “While the government retains the constitutional power to revoke land for overriding public interest, such revocation must strictly follow due legal process as stipulated under the Land Use Act and the Urban and Regional Planning Act, including the payment of due compensation.
“Therefore, no Nigerian’s property can be lawfully seized, revoked, or sealed solely on account of failure to pay ground rent. The penalty for such default is, by law, limited to a fine or surcharge, not the compulsory taking over or sealing of the property without recourse to the due process prescribed under Section 42 of the Land Use Act and other relevant provisions.
Responding, the Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the FCT Minister, Lere Olayinka, said Senator Kingibe only advertised her ignorance of the Land Use Act and penchant for seeking cheap political gains on every issue.
Olayinka, in a statement on Thursday informed the Senator that land allocation is not unconditional, as there are conditions that must be met and one of them is annual payment of Ground Rent.
He urged the lawmaker “to purge herself of the hatred she is harbouring against the FCT Minister and stop seeing issues from the angle of “I hate Wike.”
Describing the Senator’s comment as ridiculously illogical, Wike’s spokesman said, “It is ridiculously embarrassing that a serving Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, whose duty is to make laws is ignorant of the provisions of Section 28, Subsections (a) and (b) of the Land Use Act.
“For the education of Senator Kingibe, Section 28, Subsections (a) and (b) of the Land Use Act provides that ‘The Government may revoke a Statutory Right of Occupancy on the ground of; (a) a breach of any of the provisions which a certificate of occupancy is by Section 10 deemed to contain; and (b) a breach of any term contained in the Certificate of Occupancy.
“Now, is annual payment of Ground Rent not part of the terms contained in the Certificate of Occupancy? Or Senator Kingibe just chose to advertise her myopic attitude to anything Wike?”
He said she should rather have said that “land owners in the FCT have rights to refuse to pay necessary bills stated in the Certificate of Occupancy issued to them, and that when they so do, the government should simply pick samba and tambourine, and sing their praises.
“Now, if land allottees refused to pay Ground Rent for 10 to 43 years, Senator Ireti Kingibe will just look away if she was the FCT Minister?”
