FCTA will no longer allocate lands without development timeline — Wike

Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration on Thursday said the FCTA will no longer allocate lands, especially to government agencies without a defined timeline to develop it.

The minister said this when a delegation from the Nigerian Customs Service led by its Acting Comptroller General, Bashir Adeniyi paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja.

Wike decried that agencies have made a habit of requesting land without developing it for years, which will no longer be allowed.

The delegation requested land to build primary and secondary schools for staff and residents of the FCT, as well as requesting that Wike reverse the revocation of its land in Abuja.

approves land for Customs to build schools in FCT

The minister stated that he would approve land for the Customs on the condition that they provide a plan and timeline for development, and that the Customs must pay its ground rent as and when due, even without notice from the FCTA.

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“Government agencies will always ask for land from FCT without developing it for years. Why would you have land and not develop it, it doesn’t make sense.

“My policy now, before I approve land to any agency, that agency will commit to develop the land within a certain number of years. If not developed, FCT would take back the land. We will give you (customs) several years to build schools if that is not done, FCT will take back their land”, Wike said.

“A tenant must know he is a debtor because we depend on revenue to survive as a territory,” he said.

On the revoked land, Wike said that FCTA would only sell the revoked land back to the Customs at the current value.

The land was revoked over the failure of the customs to develop it for years, even though it was in a service area.

The minister stressed that the FCT needs revenue to embark on as many projects as possible.