The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has issued a final warning to property owners in Abuja, announcing that enforcement actions against defaulters on various statutory payments will commence next Wednesday, November 26, 2025.
This decisive move targets outstanding payments for Ground Rent, Land Use Change/Conversion fees, Right of Occupancy (R-of-O), and Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) bills.
The enforcement will also extend to individuals who have purchased properties but failed to regularize their ownership by obtaining the mandatory Minister’s Consent and registering their Deeds of Assignment.
The FCT Minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, confirmed the development in a statement released on Thursday. He recalled that the administration had previously granted several grace periods to allow defaulters to comply.
On May 26, 2025, following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s intervention, FCT Minister Barrister Nyesom Wike granted a 14-day grace period for ground rent defaulters to settle their debts with associated penalties.
Furthermore, public notices were published in national dailies and aired on broadcast stations in September, giving property owners 30 days to pay a ₦5 million penalty fee for violating land use clauses, followed by a final 14-day extension for specific high-end districts.
The FCTA emphasized that the grace period for ground rent payments expired on June 9, 2025—over five months ago—while the final extension for land use conversion fees will elapse on Monday, November 24, 2025.
Consequently, the administration has declared that all avenues for leniency have been exhausted. The enforcement action, beginning November 26, is a direct consequence of the prolonged non-compliance by a significant number of property owners.
The move is part of the administration’s broader strategy to enforce compliance with urban regulations and ensure all property-related revenues are duly collected for the territory’s development.
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