In a sweeping enforcement action, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) is set to commence the sealing of 4,794 properties across Abuja’s prime districts, including the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The exercise, slated to begin on Monday, May 26, 2025, targets properties for which ground rents have been outstanding for periods ranging from one to 43 years.
This significant development was disclosed yesterday during a press briefing by Mr. Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, alongside Mr. Chijioke Nwankwoeze, Director of Land Administration, and Mukhtar Galadima, Director of the Department of Development Control.
Mr. Olayinka emphatically stated that ownership of the revoked properties, spanning Central Area, Garki I and II, Wuse I and II, Asokoro, Maitama, and Guzape districts, has already reverted to the FCTA. “As from Monday, next week, the government will begin to exercise its rights of ownership on the affected landed properties. As usual, this will be done without consideration as to ownership of the affected landed properties. It will be purely in line with extant laws and regulations guiding the process,” he affirmed.
Access to these affected properties will be restricted, with the FCTA to determine their future utilization in due course.
Addressing concerns about potential legal challenges, Mr. Nwankwoeze clarified that no court decision currently restricts the FCTA from carrying out its lawful functions concerning the affected properties. He also revealed that the FCTA is diligently compiling records of compliance and non-compliance from title holders who defaulted on ground rent payments for between one and ten years, despite being granted a 21-day grace period. Government action, he noted, will follow a thorough compilation and analysis of these records.
Among the high-profile properties slated for sealing are the well-known Wadata Plaza, which houses the current national secretariat of the PDP, as well as the party’s new national secretariat at Plot Number 243 in the Central Area District. Mr. Nwankwoeze, however, clarified that while Wadata Plaza is affected, it is not registered in the PDP’s name.
“The one in Zone 5, where they are currently occupying as their national headquarters, does not belong to PDP. It belongs to Samaila Mamang Ofu. And the revocation notice has been served on him at his Kaduna address – the address on record. We did not serve any such notice on the PDP. The only one we served on them was the one for the central area. You don’t serve a revocation notice on a tenant or an occupier. You serve it on the title holder – that’s what the law says,” he explained.
Mr. Nwankwoeze further emphasized the broad scope of the enforcement, stating, “We are talking about 4,794 titles. There are so many people who are affected. Government institutions, private organizations, private individuals – the Nigerian Postal Authority is there, the Central Bank of Nigeria is there, NNPC is there, INF is there, the Nigerian Universities Commission is there, Borno State Government is there, NDDC is there, the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria is there, the Federal Ministry of Environment is there, the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company is there – and so many others. It’s not only PDP.”
The FCTA had initially announced the revocation of these 4,794 land titles on March 18, 2025, as part of a larger list of 8,375 properties with outstanding ground rent payments. The upcoming sealing operation marks the next phase of the administration’s resolve to reclaim public assets and ensure compliance with land tenure regulations.
