FCTA moves to revoke undeveloped plots in Abuja

By Stanley Onyekwere

The FCT Administration has concluded arrangements to revoke undeveloped plots of land in serviced areas, allocated to individuals and corporate organizations, according to the Director of Information and Customer Service, Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS) and Land Administration Department, Muhammad Hazat Sule.

Sule equally revealed that the Administration will soon commence revocation of plots allocated to various developers under the Mass Housing Scheme but remains undeveloped since allocations were made.

Making this disdisclosure yesterday in a statement made available to PeoplesDaily, the Director explained that the action has become necessary because government has expended huge sum of money in the provision of basic infrastructures in these areas and will not allow them to remain unutilized.

Sule revealed that already, the Administration has taken inventory of the developed and undeveloped plots including Mass Housing across the FCT and would soon act by revoking the undeveloped titles and reallocate same to serious developers.

He said some of these plots were allocated for a very long time for different purposes including private residential, commercial, as well as Mass Housing with terms and conditions that some developers have failed to comply with.

According to him, “some of these allocation papers have been kept in briefcases without considering the terms and/or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with the Government.”

He reiterated that by not developing these huge plots of land allocated to them in line with the terms of allocation and MoU entered into with government, the defaulting developers have denied access to affordable housing to thousands of residents who are desirous of owing houses in the FCT.

He further explained that, for instance, the FCT Administration came up with the concept of mass housing in order to bridge the housing gap and meet the housing needs of the residents.

“There is the need to remind all those with such allocations to do the needful, because the FCT Administration had in the past allocated huge plots of land in various districts for mass housing projects across the Territory. But sadly, some of these allottees are yet to develop them.”

“Accordingly, the FCTA has carried out several sensitizations both in the print and electrotonic media for them to be responsive by developing same in line with the terms of allocations, yet, some of the developers remained adamant,” Sule added.

He, however, called on all allottees of mass housing plots in the Territory that have developed them to submit the names of their subscribers or beneficiaries to the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS) and Land Administration Department for the necessary documentation and subsequent issuance of Rights of Occupancy and the Certificates of Occupancy that would be bankable.