FCTA To Enforce Payment Of Ground Rents, Defaulters To Forfeit Property

Property owners in Abuja, the federal capital, have been urged to ensure consistent payment of their ground rents to avoid the revocation of ownership of their properties.

This comes as the FCT Administration on Thursday said it would henceforth begin to enforce the payment of ground rents by property owners.

The FCTA said  it would not hesitate to revoke or sanction any property owner that fails to pay his or her ground rents.

A statement by the information customer service rep at the Abuja Geographic Information Systems, Sule O. Haruna, quoted the Chief Executive Officer of AGIS, Isa Ibrahim Jalo, as issuing the warning in Abuja on Thursday.

Jalo said despite several warnings and enlightenment on the befits of paying ground rents, property owners in the FCT have continued to fail to pay up their dues.

This, Jalo said, prompted the FCTA to reach the resolution to begin to crack down on defaulters of ground rents in the FCT.

According to him, payment of ground rent is a legal responsibility of any property owner as enshrined in the Land Use Act of 1978 and upon accepting the offer it becomes incumbent on the beneficiaries to abide by the law.

“we have carried out several public enlightenments to sensitize and create awareness on the need for property owners to come forward and settle their liabilities, yet some of them remain adamant,” said Jalo.

“Hence, the FCT Administration has no any other option than wield the big stick as the law will strictly be adhered to, because the government requires these funds to provide security and basic infrastructure,” he stressed.

Jalo further advised all plot allottees in the FCT to always register their transactions relating to their property with AGIS.