Wike, Kingibe Disagree Over Ground Rent Debtors Clampdown

THE Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Thursday, May 29, disagreed with the senator representing the territory in the Senate, Ireti Kingibe, over the recent sealing of properties for failure to pay ground rent, which she described as unconstitutional and high-handed.
In a statement issued on May 26 posted on her official X handle, the senator warned that the mass closure of buildings, including offices of key institutions, such as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and a branch of Access Bank Plc, violated the rights of residents and business owners.
However, Wike, in a statement his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, accused Kingibe of displaying “ridiculous ignorance” of the Land Use Act and turning every issue into a personal vendetta against Wike.
He said: “It is embarrassingly ignorant for a serving senator to be unaware of the provisions of Section 28 of the Land Use Act.
“Ground rent is not optional; it’s a legal obligation tied to land ownership and failure to pay it over 10, 20, even 43 years cannot be brushed aside.”
He reckoned that Kingibe’s position on the matter was politically-motivated, calling on her to “purge herself of hatred for Wike,” rather than shielding defaulters under the guise of defending legality.
But the senator has maintained her position, arguing that while enforcement of ground rent is necessary, the sealing off properties without due process is illegal, citing the Land Use Act and the Urban and Regional Planning Act, which she stated, prescribe fines or surcharges, not arbitrary sealing of properties, as penalties for default.
She insisted that “no Nigerian’s property can be lawfully seized or sealed solely due to ground rent default,” urging the FCT Administration’s actions “indiscriminate and insensitive” to current economic realities.
She warned that such abrupt enforcements erode public trust and worsen the economic hardship facing FCT residents, pledging to push for legislative action to ensure compliance with due process in future enforcement activities.
Kingibe urged residents to remain calm and law-abiding, as the matter was receiving her full attention, adding: “We are committed to ensuring that dialogue, justice, and due process prevail.”
But Olayinka described Kingibe’s interpretation of the law as selective, saying non-payment of ground rent constitutes a breach of the Certificate of Occupancy (CofO), which is grounds enough, under the law, for revocation.
He noted: “It is ridiculously embarrassing that a serving senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, whose duty is to make laws, is ignorant of the provisions of Section 28, Subsections (a) and (b) of the Land Use Act.
“For the education of Senator Kingibe, Section 28, Subsections (a) and (b) of the Land Use Act provides that ‘the Government may revoke a Statutory Right of Occupancy on the ground of; (a) a breach of any of the provisions which a certificate of occupancy is by Section 10 deemed to contain; and (b) a breach of any term contained in the Certificate of Occupancy.
“Now, is annual payment of Ground Rent not part of the terms contained in the Certificate of Occupancy? Or Senator Kingibe just chose to advertise her myopic attitude to anything Wike?”
He added that the senator should rather have said that “land owners in the FCT have rights to refuse to pay necessary bills stated in the CofO issued to them, and that when they so do, the government should simply pick samba and tambourine, and sing their praises.
“Now, if land allottees refused to pay Ground Rent for 10 to 43 years, Senator Ireti Kingibe will just look away if she were the FCT Minister?”
“Would Kingibe, as FCT minister, fold her arms while landowners refuse to pay what is legally due for over four decades?”
The disagreement comes despite President Bola Tinubu’s recent intervention by granting defaulters a 14-day grace period to settle their arrears, a development that temporarily halted further actions.