• Defends NIN, BVN requirements for Abuja lands
By Stanley Onyekwere
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, has declared that he would not contest against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the forthcoming 2027 Presidential election.
Wike explained that doing such a thing was out of the question, as good character should never be compromised on the alter of politics.
Making this assertion Friday, during a media chat with a select television stations, in Abuja, the Minister reaffirmed his commitment to the success of the Tinubu administration, as having worked for the emergence of his as President, and him been made minister of FCT, nothing would push him to contest against the President in 2027.
His words: “Tinubu made me minister, and people don’t understand, I have character. What will happen in 2027? I stood and I said I’m not going to support injustice. I was threatened that they will do me this and that. They tried many options including using major Generals.”
Commenting on the new requirements for acquisition of land in the Federal Capital Territory particularly the introduction of National Identity Number (NIN) and Biometric Verification Number (BVN) to Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), the minister insisted that it aimed at boosting security and revenue generation.
Wike also noted that existing landowners in the capital must get recertification to incorporate these new features.
According to him: “There are a lot of discrepancies, a lot of cloning of C-of-Os, so we have come up with an idea that every allottee who seeks and applies for a C-of-O must supply his NIN; this is one of the features we are going to put in the new C-of-O,” he said.
“If a corporate body doesn’t have an NIN and they have a property, they must put their BVN. So many persons have not registered, and this will make them go and re-register.”
Addressing the issue of existing landlords with shared-C-of-Os, Wike stated that they would only be required to pay a nominal fee for recertification.
He further stated that other benefits of this initiative are in identifying property owners accurately for tax purposes.
“For everyone who has a C-of-O, they will come for a recertification, so that we can incorporate the NIN or BVN,” he said.
“Those who had a C-of-O before don’t need to pay money again; the highest they can pay is N50,000, and corporate bodies will pay N100,000. It helps in terms of security; it also helps to improve our revenue generation.”
“There are people who own seven properties, so this will identify them so they can pay taxes”, he stated.
