The Director of Lands for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chijioke Nwanwkoeze, has clarified that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has failed to pay ground rent for its national secretariat for 28 years, amounting to N7.6 million.
Nwanwkoeze made this statement on Wednesday, March 19, in Abuja while addressing the press regarding the ongoing controversy surrounding the revocation of the PDP’s land title for its national secretariat.
This follows a decision by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to revoke the land title for the PDP secretariat, which is located in the Central Area of Abuja.
The revocation was formalised in a letter dated March 13, 2025, titled “Notice of Revocation of Right of Occupancy with File No. MISC 81346 in respect of Plot No. 243 within Central Area (A00) District, Abuja.”
In response to this move, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Deborah Ologunagba, criticised the revocation of the land titles for the PDP’s Wadata Plaza and its new property under construction.
However, Nwanwkoeze explained that the revocation only concerned the property under construction in the Central Area. He further clarified that the Wadata Plaza building, which the PDP occupies as its national headquarters, was never owned by the party in the first place.
“The minister revoked 4,794 titles, and the PDP is just one of them, The property where they are occupying their national headquarters is not their property. It belongs to Samaila Maman Ofi, who purchased it from Wadata and had it registered via an assignment,” Nwanwkoeze said.
He went on to state that the PDP owed 28 years’ worth of ground rent, amounting to N7,603,504.31, from 1998 to 2025.
Despite repeated notices to pay the arrears, the PDP had not settled the debt, prompting the minister to take action.
“We have given people notices to pay, or risk having their titles revoked. Since 2023, those notices have been out, but no payment has been made, The revocation applies to one property in the Central Area, not two,” he continued.
Nwanwkoeze also pointed out that the revocation notice for the Wadata Plaza property in Wuse Zone 5 had been served on the property’s owner, who resides in Kaduna.
He explained that, by law, revocation notices are only served on title holders, not tenants or occupiers like the PDP.
“The revocation notice for the Wadata Plaza property has been served on the owner at his Kaduna address, We did not serve a revocation notice on the PDP because they are tenants, not the title holders,” Nwanwkoeze said.
Addressing claims that the revocation exercise was specifically targeted at the PDP, Nwanwkoeze assured the public that the exercise had impacted numerous government institutions, private organisations, and individuals who had also failed to pay ground rent for years.
“This exercise is not aimed at the PDP alone. There are 4,794 titles involved, and many of them belong to government bodies, private organisations, and individuals who have defaulted on their payments for over 40 years, We are talking about people who have owed for 43, 42, 41 years—almost half the lifetime of their grant,” he clarified.
He further stressed the need for accountability, stating that it was unacceptable for people to go decades without paying the necessary ground rent.
“The grants are typically for 99 years. So, owing for almost half of that period is certainly not good enough,” he concluded.
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