By Stanley Onyekwere
The FCT Administration has inaugurated a Coordinating Committee on the Recovery of Outstanding Ground Rents of N29, 506,643,943.98 owed the Administration by property owners in Abuja.
A statement from Muhammad Hazat Sule Director, Information & Communication, FCT, which was made available to Peoplesdaily yesterday, revealed that the 9-Member Coordinating Committee is headed by the FCT General Counsel / Secretary of Legal Services Secretariat, Muhammed B. Umar.
While inaugurating the Committee the FCT Permanent Secretary, Mr. Adesola Olusade, said the move, was part of measures to improve revenue generation accruing into the coffers of the FCTA.
Adesola added that since the inception of this Administration, improvement in revenue generation has been an issue of utmost importance.
He reiterated that funding is key in the running of government, provision of infrastructure as well as delivery of quality services to the residents of the Territory.
He also explained that funding of FCTA activities is being hampered due to paucity of funds, which is necessary for the running of a modern capital city such as Abuja.
According to him: “The decision to embark on recovery of Ground Rents has therefore, become a matter of necessity. We are serious about this. All those owing should come forward to settle their debts”.
The Permanent Secretary recalled that the FCT Administration has earlier migrated all revenue collections to Treasury Single Account (TSA) via REMITA Platform, to boost revenue generation in compliance with the Federal Government directive.
He opines that “despite all these efforts, the rate of revenue generation has not met the realities on ground, hence the need to exploit other frontiers”.
