By Daniel Tyokua
The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) has dismissed allegations of land grabbing, extortion, and administrative high-handedness leveled against its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Hon. Oyetunde Ojo, describing them as baseless and an attempt to discredit ongoing reforms.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Head of the Corporate Affairs Department of the FHA, Kenneth Chigelu, said the claims were contained in publications by some media organisations not AUTHORITY Newspaper on April 29 and 30, 2026. The claims were allegedly made by a “coalition of estate developers” in the Federal Capital Territory.
The group had called on President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to probe Ojo over the allegations.
The statement described the allegations as “spurious, quixotic and most ridiculous,” accusing the organisations of publishing unverified claims by “faceless criminal land grabbers” without seeking the agency’s response.
According to the statement, the grievances centered on alleged “deliberately slow administrative processes of land development approvals.” The Authority countered that the complainants were unknown to the FHA and were part of a group that benefited from illegal deals under the former analogue system.
“By May 1, 2024, we launched FHA’s digitization and ended all analogue operations of the Authority’s property files,” the statement read. “This new era ended the incessant loss of property files, double allocations, and forgery, while ensuring the protection of property documents and increasing the speed of service delivery.”
The Authority said the introduction of digital systems and a MAX 350 drone for land mapping had closed loopholes for sharp practices, prompting resistance from those affected.
FHA noted that it conducted a Verification, Regularization and Ratification Exercise (VRR) to allow genuine allottees to regularize their records and gave those who illegally encroached on its land a chance to pay the difference and obtain proper documentation.
“Observations from that exercise revealed that many people who had illegally grabbed the Authority’s land and had no proof of ownership resorted to blackmail,” it said.
The Authority added that its approval process is now faster through a One-Stop Shop, with approvals granted within two weeks where all criteria are met. Delays, it said, occur only in cases of incomplete or faulty documentation.
FHA challenged the group to identify themselves and provide proof of allocation and verification with the Authority. It also said measures had been put in place to prevent the undervaluation of statutory fees, which may have angered those previously benefiting from collusion with staff.
“We reiterate our resolve to keep growing the Authority towards the full actualization of its mandate of providing houses for Nigerians. We remain undeterred by the ambush and antics of these disgruntled land grabbers,” the statement said.
The Authority urged the public to disregard the claims and warned that there would be “no hiding place” for those who had illegally taken government land.
