ABUJA – The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has sealed the Wuse Zone 5 office of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) over non-payment of ground rent for a staggering 25 years.
In a sweeping enforcement operation, the FCTA also sealed a branch of Access Bank and a Total petrol station, both located in the Wuse District, for similarly failing to remit ground rents spanning several decades.
Officials from the FCTA Department of Development Control, supported by security personnel, carried out the operation on Monday as part of a renewed crackdown on property owners and institutions defaulting on statutory land charges.
The FCTA emphasized that despite repeated warnings and notices, the affected institutions failed to regularize their payments, leaving the administration with no option but to take enforcement action.
Ground rent is a statutory fee paid by landowners in the FCT to maintain legal possession of their property, and the administration has recently stepped up efforts to recover billions of naira owed by both individuals and organizations.
FCTA officials reiterated that the exercise will continue across the capital city and urged all defaulters to clear outstanding debts or risk similar sanctions.
