FCTA revoke land of Buhari Foundation, Akume, Okorocha, Dino Melaye, odas sake of CofO debt

Di Minister of di Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, don approve di revocation of lands wey belong to individuals for di highbrow Maitama area of Abuja sake of say di pipo involved neva pay fo dia Certificate of Ownership for years.

According to di list wey BBC Pidgin see, one of di lands na di one wey dey allocated to one Muhammadu Buhari Foundation, as dem tok say e dey owe more dan N1.234 billion in C of O bills.

"Afta di expiration of grace period granted by di Honourable Minister, Federal Capital Territory...dia Right of Occupancy to di land/ property don dey withdrawn," di notice wey di Federal Capital Territory Administration publish tok.

According to dem, dis action dey in line wit di Land Use Act of 1978 wey tok say if pesin no keep to di terms of di land allocation, say goment get power to collect di land back.

Plenty oda big names also dey affected by dis revocation land, including di current Secretary to di Goment of di Federation, George Akume and im wife Regina, who togeda dem dey owe more dan N34 million in C of O bills.

Oda politicians and high profile pipo wey dey affected include Senator Dino Melaye wey bin run for govnor for Kogi State; Shehu Sani, politician and Activist wey also don contest for Kaduna State govnor; Rochas Okorocha wey be former govnor of Imo State; Abdul Ningi, a current Senator; former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen; and Enyinnaya Abaribe, a popular Senator from Abia State for di southeast region who dey owe more dan N61 million for di four different land allocations wey e get for Maitama, according to wetin BBC Pidgin see for di list.

Some religious institutions also dey di list, like di Methodist Church of Nigeria wey dey owe about N1.75 million.

In total, about 762 C of O's na im di FCTA withdraw from dia former owners for dis exercise, while di authorities don also publish anoda list of pipo wey do part-payment, asking dem to complete dia money within two weeks.

E neva dey clear for how many years dis pipo dey owe dis debt, and e also no dey clear how much each pesin suppose dey pay for dia C of O evri year. Anoda tin wey no clear na weda dis revocation dey final, abi di pipo involved still fit appeal am.

BBC Pidgin don reach out to di information department of di FCTA for clarification and we still dey wait for dia response.

Dis no be di first time Nyesom Wike dey revoke lands allocated to 'big men' for Abuja since e bicom FCT Minister.

In September last year, e bin revoke di lands of some politicians, judges, companies and individuals, including di presidential candidate of Labour Party for di 2023 general elections, Peter Obi.

Di reason for di revocation dat time na sake of say dem no develop di land within di timeframe wey goment give dem.

Land allocation process for Abuja

Di Abuja Geographic Information System (Agis) na di unit for di FCTA wey dey in charge of di computerisation of land for di capital territory.

According to dis unit, land allocation within di territory na based on di provisions of di Land Use and FCT Acts, and na di Ministry of di FCT dey in charge.

Di Land Use Act of 1978 tok say di governor of a state - or di Minister of di FCT - na im dey in control of all urban landwithin di state, except di lands wey belong to di Federal Govment or dia agent.

Na him go hold di land in trust for di pipo and e go dey allocate am for residential, commercial, agricultural and other purposes.

For di FCT, Individuals or organisations wey need land go apply thru Agis bicos na only dem get power to issue statutory right of occupancy.

However, di FCT authority also fit allocate land to individuals or organisations if dem want, but di individuals or organisation gatz go through Agis to regularise dia allocation and get dia C of O.

Also na di Agis unit dey in charge of receiving all revenue wey individuals or organisations suppose dey pay on top di lands allocated to dem. Dis money dem include: fees for fresh application for land allocation, C of O bills, ground rent, etc.