By Mark Mayah
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has decried the widespread disregard for the payment of ground rent by property owners in Abuja, describing the trend as symptomatic of the dangerous “nothing-will-happen” attitude plaguing Nigeria.Nigerian cultural tours
Speaking during a media briefing on compliance with land use regulations, broadcast by Arise News, Wike revealed that many elite property owners in highbrow districts of Abuja—including Maitama, Wuse, and Asokoro—have persistently defaulted on ground rent payments despite clear stipulations in their Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O).
“The C-of-O clearly states that you are required to pay ground rent annually to retain ownership of your property. Some people are meant to pay ₦100,000 or ₦200,000 annually—some as high as ₦400,000. Yet they refuse to pay,” Wike said.
The former Rivers State governor took a swipe at his own political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), alleging that it governed Nigeria for 16 years, yet failed to pay ground rent for its properties.Nigerian cultural tours
He noted the irony that while these elites ensure compliance with tax laws overseas, they disregard Nigeria’s regulations with impunity.
“The PDP hasn’t paid ground rent in decades. Yet many of these same people own properties abroad and obey the laws of those countries without question,” he added.
“Most of their children live abroad. They pay taxes on time over there because they know the government will take the property if they don’t. But here in Nigeria, they know ‘nothing will happen.’ This mentality, combined with tribal and religious sentiments, is what’s killing this country,” Wike said.Nigerian cultural tours
Citing an example, the minister disclosed that he recently paid the ground rent for a property listed as number 3,092.
“I saw it in the news—the name attached to that property belongs to a senior citizen at the highest level,” he stated, hinting at how widespread the issue is among the country’s elite.
Wike vowed that under his leadership, the FCT Administration would take enforcement seriously. “This city will not continue to be run on impunity. You either pay your ground rent or risk losing your property,” he said.
He continued, “I travelled for three days and signed over 1,500 documents. In those three days, I signed more than 700 official documents. Then someone comes to collect theirs and says they’re going into business and getting loans from the bank. But they don’t even remember to pay what is due. What kind of attitude is that?
“Imagine you took a loan from a bank, and then say the bank didn’t remind you to pay it back. Is it the bank’s job to constantly remind you? No. The bank will simply take action if you default. That’s how the system works.
“This has serious implications. Back in 2005, a property file was released from the FCT office during the Obasanjo administration. But another file was raised, saying government cannot force you to pay tax. I insisted they should pay ₦26 million for the assignment. According to them, that’s the value of the property.
“When PDP was in power in 2005, I said, no, bring the money. I’ll speak to the President. At the time, I was a minister. Nothing happened. Even in 2010, PDP was still in power, and I was still a minister. Then in 2015, five years passed, and nobody followed up. Nobody said, let’s resolve this.
“To this day, no consent has been given for that property. And we are not even talking about ground rent yet. From 2005 to 2025—that’s 20 years. And all of you here, politicians, keep asking government to fix roads, build infrastructure, provide water. With what funds?
“This is a country where we refuse to obey laws. Even when the laws are clear, we act like they don’t exist. Recent events have shown that many people are not committed to progress. I’ve seen people complain, but these are not the poor. I haven’t seen any poor man owning property in Maitama or Asokoro.”
Wike explained that any of those complaining are well-off. According to him, they don’t even pay up to ₦4 million in ground rent, but still refuse to pay.
“Who should remind them? Is there a houseboy whose job it is to remind them to pay taxes? These are the kinds of ridiculous excuses people give.
“Some people even go as far as playing politics with it. They say, ‘Oh, if you’re not in the ruling party, it’ll affect you.’ I hear things like, ‘I would have invested if APC or PDP was in power.’
“They say these things because they’ve been exposed. Then they go around spreading lies—’The minister is too harsh,’ they say. But these are the same people who, during previous administrations, complained that the ministers were too soft or ineffective.”
He noted that now that there’s action, they still complain.
“But I won’t stop. Two wrongs don’t make a right. I’m doing the right thing. It’s a process of recovery.
“Yes, some people say we’re not following due process. But what is ‘due process?’ Is it not giving notice? We did that. In March, we published notices. In April, May, and June, too. Yet, they still claim they didn’t know.”
Meanwhile, the leadership of some associations say they’ve seen the documents.
“I brought the papers and told them, “Take a look.” They even confessed it was unfortunate. I said yes, but it’s a confession. They should go back to their members and tell them the truth.
“This is not about politics. They shouldn’t thank me. It’s about responsibility.
“Some say it’s just ₦7.6 million. Even if the property isn’t in their name, that’s not the issue. The issue is responsibility,” Wike said.
He stated, “Some say, ‘PDP made me.’ Yes, I acknowledge that PDP gave me a platform. But it’s individuals that make parties popular, not the other way around. Look at Lagos—who did PDP make there? Since 1999, PDP hasn’t won a single House of Assembly seat, not one House of Reps seat, not one Senate seat.
“Yet you’re talking to me, someone who has worked hard for the party and made it relevant nationally. In our state, PDP has never won. But you see people constantly crying and complaining. Even when we had power, we tried to compete politically in Lagos, but it didn’t work.”
“Even during the Jonathan era, we made efforts—it still didn’t work,” Wike added.
