The Director of Lands in the Federal Capital Territory revealed that the Peoples Democratic Party had not paid ground rent for their national secretariat for 28 years, totaling N7.6m. This information was shared during a press briefing in Abuja. The FCT Minister had recently revoked the land title of the PDP secretariat located in the Central Area, Abuja.
The Director clarified that the revocation only applied to the property under construction in the Central Area and not the Wadata Plaza building, which was not owned by the PDP. The property in question belonged to Samaila Maman Ofi, and the PDP owed 28 years of ground rent amounting to N7,603,504.31.
It was emphasized that the revocation notice for the property in Wuse Zone 5 had been served to the owner in Kaduna, as tenants like the PDP were not title holders and therefore not served with revocation notices. The Director also dispelled rumors that the revocation exercise targeted only the PDP, stating that it affected various entities that had defaulted on ground rent payments for extended periods.
A total of 4,794 titles were affected by the revocation exercise, including government institutions, private organizations, and individuals who had not fulfilled their ground rent obligations for decades. The Director urged the public to understand that the revocation was not focused solely on the PDP but was a broad enforcement action against all defaulters.