By Abiola Olawale
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has sparked controversy by revoking the land title of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Secretariat in Abuja.
The revocation, announced on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, was detailed in an official notice dated March 13, citing the PDP’s failure to pay annual ground rents for two decades as the primary reason.
In the letter, titled “Notice of Right of Occupancy” (file no: MISC 81346), signed by Chijioke Nwankwoeze, Director of Land Administration (FCT), the FCT Administration accused the PDP of allegedly neglecting to settle outstanding ground rents on Plot No. 243, located in the Central Area, Cadastral Zone A00, Abuja, from January 1, 2006, to January 1, 2025.
The notice emphasized that despite repeated warnings published in national newspapers and broadcast on electronic media since 2023, the party failed to comply with its financial obligations.
“The revocation is in view of your continued contravention of the terms and conditions of grant of the Right of Occupancy by failing to pay the annual ground rents due on the property for twenty years,” the letter stated.
The letter further noted that this breach violated Section 28, Subsections 5(a) and (b) of the Land Use Act, empowering the minister to reclaim the property.
The decision has fueled a firestorm of debate, given Wike’s complex history with the PDP.
A former governor of Rivers State and a prominent figure within the party, Wike has been at odds with the PDP leadership since losing the party’s presidential primary in 2022. His subsequent appointment as FCT Minister under President Bola Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration has only deepened suspicions of political motives behind his actions.
This also comes after FCTA announced the revocation of a total of 4,794 land titles in the nation’s capital.
