FCTA Seals FIRS, Access Bank, TotalEnergies Over Unpaid Ground Rent

By Sofiat Adenekan

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on Monday sealed the offices of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Access Bank, and Total Energy in Wuse, Abuja, over long-standing non-payment of ground rent.

The enforcement, led by the Director of Lands at the FCTA, Chijioke Nwakwoeze, is part of a wider crackdown on 4,794 properties whose titles were revoked on March 18, 2025, due to accumulated rent arrears.

According to Nwakwoeze, the FIRS building located in Wuse Zone 5 has failed to remit ground rent for 25 years.

He further disclosed that the Access Bank property, situated on Plot No. 2456 in Wuse I, Cadastral Zone A02, and owned by Rana Tahir Furniture Nig. Ltd, has not paid ground rent for 34 years.

“These properties have now reverted to the Federal Capital Territory Administration, and we have taken possession in accordance with the law,” Nwakwoeze stated.

Also speaking during the enforcement exercise, Director of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima, emphasized that the FCTA had previously announced plans to take possession of over 4,000 properties for non-compliance with statutory obligations.

“Today’s action is in line with that directive. We are beginning with Plot 534, Cadastral Zone A02 in Wuse Zone 1, which was owned by Total PLC,” Galadima said.

The FCTA has reiterated its commitment to recovering public land and enforcing compliance with ground rent regulations across the Federal Capital Territory.