FCTA to Seal PDP Secretariat, 4,793 Other Properties on Monday
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has announced that it will seal the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja, along with 4,793 other properties, starting Monday, May 26, 2025, due to unpaid ground rent. The announcement was made during a press briefing on Friday by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, alongside Director of Land Administration, Chijioke Nwankwoeze, and Director of Development Control, Mukhtar Galadima.
The affected properties, located in Central Area, Garki I and II, Wuse I and II, Asokoro, Maitama, and Guzape districts, had their land titles revoked in March 2025 for non-payment of ground rent ranging from one to 43 years. Olayinka stated that ownership of the 4,794 properties has reverted to the FCTA, and the government will begin exercising its rights of ownership on Monday, regardless of the property owners’ identities, in accordance with applicable laws.
Among the properties to be sealed is the PDP’s current national secretariat at Wadata Plaza, which is registered under Samaila Mamang Ofu, not the PDP, and a new PDP secretariat at Plot Number 243 in the Central Area District. Nwankwoeze clarified that revocation notices were served to title holders, not occupants, as per legal requirements, with the notice for Wadata Plaza served to Ofu at his Kaduna address.
The affected properties include those owned by government institutions such as the Nigerian Postal Authority, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Universities Commission, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Environment, and Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company, as well as private organizations and individuals, including the Borno State Government and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Olayinka noted that the FCTA is compiling records of compliance and non-compliance among title holders who were given a 21-day grace period to settle outstanding ground rent payments. The government will take further action once the records are fully compiled.
Nwankwoeze dismissed claims of legal challenges, stating that no court decision restricts the FCTA from enforcing the revocation. The FCTA plans to use relevant government agencies to take possession of the properties starting Monday, with decisions on their future use to be made later.
The revocation, announced on March 18, 2025, involved 8,375 land titles, of which the 4,794 properties in question were part. The FCTA emphasized that the sealing process will proceed transparently and in line with legal and regulatory frameworks.
