Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has issued a firm final warning to ground rent defaulters, declaring that there will be no further extension of the payment deadline.
Wike spoke in Abuja on Monday after inspecting major infrastructure projects in Wuse and Lifecamp. He noted that the two-week extension granted after a Presidential intervention more than four months ago had long expired, stressing that property owners have exhausted every grace period available.
“It’s unfortunate that most Nigerians who complain don’t want to abide by the rules,” Wike said. “When we started this enforcement, we had a presidential intervention to give them two, three weeks more. But it’s more than four months now and we cannot carry out projects without people paying their taxes. We made publications extending the deadline, but if you don’t enforce it, nobody will pay. This is the last time. We are not going to extend any further.”
On enforcement, the minister said officials of the FCTA will seal any property whose owners fail to comply, adding that such premises will revert to the FCT Administration.
“If you have not paid, we will seal up the premises and the property then becomes the property of the FCT Administration,” he warned.
Wike also gave updates on the infrastructure projects inspected, including the Transit Way N2 linking the Central Business District to Wuse, and the Arterial Road N5 (Obafemi Awolowo Way) from Life Camp Junction to Karmo. He expressed satisfaction with the quality and pace of work.
He said the contractor handling N2, Levante Construction Ltd, has assured that the road will be completed by June 2026, while Julius Berger is expected to finish the Arterial Road N5 by the end of January next year.
“We are very happy with the quality of the job done,” Wike said, adding that the N2 project is being executed with emergency funding, while the N5 road is covered in the FCT’s 2025 budget.
Responding to inquiries about when the newly commissioned bus terminals will become fully operational, the minister said the operator selection process is ongoing and should be concluded before the end of the year.
“It’s a contract, so the procurement is ongoing,” he explained. “We also want to see the number of fleet that they have. By the grace of God, by the end of the year, that would have been rounded up.”
