Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Nyesom Wike has given the end of October as ultimatum to beneficiaries of monetized federal government properties in Abuja to revert to the original land use or risk revocation by November 1.
Director, Department of Development Control in the Administration, Mukhtar Galadima disclosed this at a news conference Friday in Abuja.
Recalling how the Federal Government in 2005 initiated the monetization programme because of the cost of maintaining the houses, Galadima said beneficiaries ought to maintain the houses according to the terms of purchase.
“It is on this note that the minister has approved and directed that all owners of such properties should revert the properties to their original and designated land use which is residential.
“Failing to comply with this directive as from Nov. 1, the houses are considered as revoked.
“We are giving such persons and individuals to the end of October to revert to original uses, otherwise from Nov. 1, they should consider such properties as revoked and returned to FCTA,” he said.
According the him, the department has so far recorded more than 111 cases of land use conversion in respect of the sold houses, cutting across all the districts of the capital city.
“The minister has also directed that owners of properties, particularly along major streets who have converted their properties to other uses without approval should either revert to original use or pay contravention charges.
“Anyone who fails to comply with such a directive, the administration will take appropriate action, which may include revocation.
“It is on this note that we felt it wise to inform the public of the decision and directive of the FCT Administration with regards to the indiscriminate conversion of land uses in FCT.
“This is done to maintain the sanctity of the Abuja Master Plan”, he stated