The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has sealed the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja’s Wuse district due to the party’s failure to pay ground rent for 19 years.
The action is part of a broader enforcement campaign targeting property owners in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) who have defaulted on ground rent payments.
According to a letter dated March 13, 2025, signed by Chijioke Nwankwoeze, Director of Land Administration at the FCTA, the PDP failed to pay the annual ground rent on Plot No. 243, Central Area, Cadastral Zone A00, Abuja, from January 1, 2006, to January 1, 2025. This contravenes the terms of the Right of Occupancy under the Land Use Act.
The FCTA’s action follows the revocation of 4,794 land titles across prime districts in Abuja, including Central Area, Garki I and II, Wuse I and II, Asokoro, Maitama, and Guzape, due to non-payment of ground rent for over a decade. The total outstanding ground rent owed by 8,375 property owners amounts to approximately ₦6.97 billion.
Despite multiple notices and publications since 2023 urging defaulters to settle their debts, many property owners failed to comply, prompting the FCTA to take decisive action. The administration has granted a 21-day grace period to titleholders who have defaulted for between one and ten years to pay up or face revocation of their land titles.
The sealing of the PDP national secretariat underscores the FCTA’s commitment to enforcing land use regulations and ensuring compliance with statutory obligations.
