By Daniel Tyokua
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has begun preparations to recover N29 billion naira owed it as ground rent by land allottees.
The General Counsel and Secretary of FCT Legal Services Secretariat, Barr. Mohammed Umar disclosed this after FCT Executive Committee meeting chaired by the minister of FCT, Malam Muhammad Bello.
He said that the recovery of the funds will be carried out through the help of the courts.
“The Land Use Act allows us to recover ground rents through the Magistrate Court, 29 billion naira is a lot of money that can be used to build infrastructure and improve services for the teeming residents of the FCT who require these services and whose welfare is the cardinal objective and concern of the present administration.
“It is our intention that very soon, debtors and people who are recalcitrant, who have refused to pay their ground rents and other rents due and payable to the FCT Administration, will be made to do so by being sued to court and if they don’t pay, may forfeit their titles on such land.”
In a statement issued on Tuesday, by Anthony Ogunleye, Chief Press Secretary to the minister of FCT, urged residents who are yet to pay their ground rents to do so or risk the prescribed penalties.
“When this land is given to you, there are terms and conditions attached to the allocation. One of them and fundamentally, is for you to pay your rents. If you don’t pay your rents and you owe for years, what else do you expect?
“It’s like a tenant who lives in a rented apartment and who simply tells his landlord, I’m not paying. What does he expect? And if you need services on the land, you want road, you want water, you want refuse collection and you are not paying your rent, how then do you expect government to provide the services?
“We know that budgetary allocations are not enough and you have a duty to pay. After all, these lands are worth a lot of money. So why don’t you just take a bit of it and simply pay your liability” Umar said.
