Nigeria
Ground rent: Wike threatens defaulters with “something will happen” in his final warning
On Tuesday, Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), issued a final warning to anyone who had neglected to pay ground rent in the FCT, announcing that action will be taken.
When Wike was visited in Abuja by the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) leadership, which was led by Dr. Chris Isiguzo, the organization’s president, he issued the warning.
The minister refuted the false belief that the ground rent directive was a meaningless threat, saying instead that “something will surely happen.”
The FCT Administration released land titles of people, groups, and institutions who owed ground rent in September, as the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) remembers.
Allottees of lands inside the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were reminded in the publication of their duties under the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) to make payments in advance without demand starting on January 1st of every year.
The FCTA had issued a warning that the title may be revoked for violating any or all of the conditions outlined in the Rights of Occupancy.
As a result, the administration threatened to revoke the titles of allottees, property owners, and recipients of the Federal Government Houses sale in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until their unpaid ground rent was settled.
By cancelling such plots at the end of the grace period, Wike gave the defaulters his word that he would follow through on his promises.
““The law was in place before I arrived. The application of the law is the only issue. I have the ability and the political will to act morally, as does the Minister of State.
Nigerians are humorous people who tend to think nothing bad will happen. There will be an event. We are not able to carry on in that manner.
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We have issued a final notice to those in default, telling them that this is their first act of “garagara” (false bravery). There will be an event.
““The law will be applied by the time we give the final notice if you don’t pay,” he declared.
The period of abandoned projects in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was ended, he said, adding that FCTA was able to preserve a substantial amount of Internally Generated Revenue since the Administration was removed from the Treasury Single Account.
He clarified that some of the hash choices made by the FCTA would ultimately benefit everyone, noting that the government would trample on rights in its pursuit of redress in the Federal Capital Territory.
The minister promised to keep helping the media, saying that they are important allies in the field of development.
Prior to this, Isiguzo praised Wike for his capacity for transformation, which was demonstrated in Rivers State during his tenure as governor.
In addition, he expressed gratitude to the minister for being approachable by the media and promised the support of the NUJ through independent and ethical journalism.
He pleaded with the minister to back the union’s efforts to increase capacity, to hold the upcoming National Media Conference, and to donate land for the establishment of a Media Village in Abuja.
According to NAN, the ground rent payment process involves using the REMITA portal to electronically pay and obtain a REMITA Retrieval Reference (RRR).
It is anticipated that those who are impacted would go to https://remita.net/REMITA, click on “Pay TSA & States,” and then choose Federal Capital Territory Administration.
Next, pick Geographic Information Systems, Abuja, and the revenue head that needs to be paid—in this example, FCC Ground Rent.
After completing the necessary fields, submitting it, and printing the RRR slip, payment can be done at any commercial bank. In NAN