The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Friday unveiled a set of far-reaching reforms aimed at overhauling land allocation and development procedures within the territory.
Effective from April 21, 2025, the new measures cover key areas such as the conditions for granting Statutory Right of Occupancy (R-of-O), the structure of the R-of-O Bill, the Letter of Acceptance/Refusal of offer, titling of Mass Housing and Sectional Interests, and the regularisation of Area Council land documents.
A major highlight of the reforms is the imposition of a 21-day deadline for allottees to complete payment of required bills, fees, rents, and charges tied to Statutory Rights of Occupancy.
The payment must be accompanied by a completed Letter of Acceptance and proof of payment, failing which the offer becomes void.
Additionally, the time frame for developing allocated plots has been reduced to two years from the date of R-of-O issuance. Any development not completed within this window will risk revocation.
Announcing the reforms through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications, Lere Olayinka, Wike said: “Any R-of-O bills and any other payments made outside the stipulated 21 days shall be considered invalid while any land granted should be developed within two years.”
He stressed the importance of streamlining land documents issued by Area Councils, noting that all lands in the FCT are classified as urban.
“On lands previously allocated by Area Councils, the law stipulates that all lands in the FCT are urban lands. It therefore becomes necessary that all land documents issued by the Area Councils are considered for regularisation to statutory titles in line with relevant statutes.”
He referenced a 2006 directive mandating Area Councils to submit all allocation records to the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS) and Lands Department, which they complied with. However, he lamented the slow progress in regularisation.
“The 8,287 were vetted from 2006 to 2023 (17 years), and this represents just 3.2 per cent of the total land documents submitted for vetting and regularisation. As of today, the FCT Administration is still left with 253,627 submissions in its database,” the minister said.
He added that once vetted and confirmed, these Area Council land documents will be eligible for statutory titles, but allottees must make full payments within 60 days or forfeit the offer.
“Area Council land documents successfully vetted and confirmed would have statutory titles on such lands issued and the allottees will have 60 days to make full payments of all bills, fees, rents and charges prescribed failure of which the offers shall become invalid.”
On the Mass Housing Scheme, Wike expressed dismay over the lack of compliance among developers.
“From the inception of the Mass Housing programme in 2000 till date, out of the 445 Mass Housing allocations granted, only two developers have successfully met the terms and conditions,” he stated.
He explained that the Mass Housing Programme was designed as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative to deliver affordable housing, but the government has seen minimal cooperation from developers and residents.
“Currently, the holders/occupiers of properties within the various Mass Housing Estates in the FCT do not pay bills, rents, fees and charges to the government despite having held and occupied the properties for decades,” he said.
To address this, a new operational framework has been established to speed up titling for Mass Housing and Sectional Interests.
“According to him, a new operational framework for titling of Mass Housing and Sectional Interests has been developed to fast-track the exercise efficiently, effectively and diligently, in line with the vision to restore confidence in the administration of lands in the FCT.”
He concluded by directing all title applications to be submitted by developers or subscribers to the Department of Land Administration, beginning April 21, 2025.
“Processing of titles for Mass Housing and Sectional Interests shall commence on April 21, 2025, in line with the new operational framework,” Wike said.
