Determined to recover all ground rent debts owed it by property owners in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has commenced prosecution of defaulting titleholders.
Already, the government has filed court cases against some of the property owners over their failure to pay the prescribed land charges.
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The government is seeking for an order to force debtors to clear their debts or forfeit the affected property since they are recalcitrant in paying the debts despite several appeals.
In a statement, FCTA’s spokesman, Muhammad Hazat Sule, said the administration found it necessary to take the step to recover the N29bn debt.
The government, last month, announced its preparedness to prosecute 413 defaulting property owners by end of August, 2022; being the first set.
Accordingly, legal fireworks have commenced and may lead to the forfeiture of the affected property to the government in line with relevant laws.
The statement reads in part: “It is disheartening that some of the debtors have failed to pay their outstanding ground rent despite several appeals and warnings, thereby jeopardising government’s effort at providing critical services to residents.’’
It would be recalled that the FCT Permanent Secretary, Mr Adesola Olusade, recently inaugurated a debt recovery committee with the mandate to recover the outstanding debts owed the FCTA, with particular interest in ground rent and other sundry fees in land administration.
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