JUST-IN: FCTA seals PDP National Secretariat

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has taken over Wadata Plaza, the building serving as the National Secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), over failure to pay ground rent for 28 years.

Director of Lands at the FCTA, Mr. Chijoke Nwankwoeze, disclosed that the action followed the revocation of the property’s land title, formally served on the owner, Senator Samaila Kofi, on March 14.

Nwankwoeze explained that the building, located on Plot 1970, Michael Okpara Street, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja, was officially reclaimed by the FCTA after several failed attempts to recover outstanding annual ground rent covering nearly three decades.

He noted that the revocation notice had been properly delivered to Kofi’s registered address in Kaduna, adding that the FCTA deals only with recognised property owners in its database and not tenants.

According to him, the PDP secretariat was one of 4,794 property titles revoked in March over unpaid ground rent amounting to more than N6 billion, and it became the sixth property sealed under the current enforcement exercise.

Mr. Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, dismissed any political motives behind the action, stressing that it was an administrative exercise carried out under the Land Use Act.

“This is not a political witch-hunt. It’s a lawful enforcement of land administration regulations,” Olayinka stated.

NUJ FCT reports that other affected properties include a Total petrol station, Access Bank, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) office, Ibro Hotel, and Mabuda Company Warehouse, all located within Wuse Zone 5, Abuja.