FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has warned that property owners who fail to pay their outstanding ground rent in Abuja risk losing their properties, as the final grace period expires on Tuesday. He said enforcement actions would begin immediately on Wednesday, with no further extensions.
Wike issued the warning in Abuja on Monday after inspecting key infrastructure projects in the Wuse and Life Camp districts. He noted that despite a presidential directive granting defaulters an additional two to three weeks earlier in the year, more than four months had passed without full compliance.
He criticised the attitude of many Nigerians who, he said, often complain but fail to obey regulations.
“You will recall that when we started enforcement, there was a presidential intervention giving an extra two to three weeks. It has been more than four months now, and we cannot execute projects without people paying their taxes,” Wike said.
“We also extended the deadline through public notices, but if you don’t enforce payment, people will not comply. This is the last time. We are not going to extend any further. If you have not paid, we will seal the premises, and the property then becomes that of the FCT Administration.”
On infrastructure developments, the minister expressed satisfaction with the pace and quality of construction work he inspected.
“The first site we visited was Road N2, which connects the Central Area to Wuse. Levante Construction Ltd is handling the project, and work is ongoing. The contractors assured us that by the end of May next year, the road will be completed,” he noted.
Wike also inspected Arterial Road N5, being constructed by Julius Berger, and said the firm had pledged to deliver the project by January 2026.
“We are very pleased with the quality of the work. What we are seeing here is impressive,” he said.
According to the minister, Transit Way N2 is being executed through emergency funding, while adequate provisions have been made for Arterial Road N5 in the 2025 FCT budget.
Responding to questions on when the newly commissioned bus terminals would become fully operational, Wike clarified that the process of selecting operators is underway.
“It is a contractual process. The procurement is ongoing, and we also need to assess the fleet capacity of the operators,” he explained.
