The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has vowed to seal off properties in Abuja whose owners have failed to pay their ground rent, warning that no amount of blackmail would deter the administration from recovering the debts.
Speaking during his monthly media parley on Monday in Abuja, Wike said the FCT Administration had already granted multiple grace periods and published names of over 9,000 debtors, but many were yet to comply.
Naija News reports that Wike said, “I laugh, and it’s unfortunate. I thank God Mr. President said give them two weeks, one month. Well, it’s more than three months. That is Nigeria for you.”
In May 2025, the FCT Administration announced plans to take possession of approximately 5,000 properties owing ground rents for periods ranging from 10 to 43 years. Authorities began sealing the properties of major debtors, including the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
President Bola Tinubu had intervened, granting defaulters a 14-day grace period to settle their outstanding payments and penalties.
Despite this, Wike disclosed that many defaulters had yet to pay, prompting renewed enforcement action.
He stated, “I’m going to seal up all those properties. I’m going to seal it up. You can’t deny us of the taxes we use for development.
“‘Give them two weeks, give them one month.’ We’ve done that. Some have complied. Tomorrow, by the time you start doing this, of course, the normal politics will come out. All kinds of things we say, I will not listen to that.
“If you have not complied, if you have not paid, we are going to seal it. There’s no magic of talking more, talking this. You can blackmail me all you want.”
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