The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has issued a final 14-day deadline to property owners in key districts of Abuja who have violated approved land-use plans. The defaulters must pay a penalty fee of five million naira or face government enforcement actions .
The Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, approved the grace period which starts on Tuesday, November 11, 2025. It applies to landlords in the Asokoro, Maitama, Garki, and Wuse districts . This new deadline follows the expiration of an initial 30-day window that was given in September 2025 .
In a statement released on Sunday, the minister's spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, said failure to comply within the two-week period will lead to enforcement actions by the authorities . He said the minister granted this final extension to encourage people to follow the rules voluntarily before the administration begins stricter measures .
The government says the affected property owners broke the terms of their land agreements. They changed the use of their buildings without official approval. A common violation is converting residential properties for commercial purposes .
The streets affected by this order include Gana Street and Usuma Street in Maitama District. In Asokoro District, properties on Yakubu Gowon Crescent are included. The directive also covers Aminu Kano Crescent and Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent in Wuse II District .
In Garki II District, the affected streets are Ladoke Akintola Boulevard, Gimbiya Street, and Onitsha Street. The order also includes several streets in Garki I District. These are Ogbomosho Street, Lafia Close, Yola Street, Abriba Close, Danbatta Street, Ringim Close, and Ilorin Street .
The FCTA has instructed all affected property owners to visit the Department of Land Administration. They must bring their original title documents and a valid identity card. There, they can collect their official letters of approval for land use change. These letters will detail the new purpose for the land and all the required fees .
The ministry also announced that owners who regularize their land use within this grace period will get new title documents. These include a Statutory Right of Occupancy and a Certificate of Occupancy. The new documents will show the updated land use and will be valid for a new 99-year term .
The statement was clear that this opportunity does not apply to all properties. It excludes lands that were already revoked by the government for other reasons. This includes plots revoked for not being developed, or for failure to pay annual ground rent .
This move is part of a larger effort by the FCT Minister to enforce urban planning rules in Abuja. The goal is to make sure the city's development follows the original master plan. Since taking office, Wike has repeatedly said that arbitrary changes to land use, especially in the city's high-value districts, will not be allowed without going through the proper process and paying all necessary fees .
This is not the first major enforcement action taken by the current FCT administration. In March 2025, the government revoked 4,794 land titles. This was due to non-payment of ground rent for ten years or more .
In that earlier action, the FCTA said it was owed nearly seven billion naira in unpaid ground rents from 8,375 property owners. Some of these debts were more than 40 years old. The administration later began taking physical possession of those revoked properties, sealing them to restrict access .
The enforcement has been applied to high-profile properties without discrimination. In May 2025, the FCTA sealed the national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Wuse. This action was taken because the party had failed to pay ground rent on its building for several decades .
The government's stricter approach to land administration has significantly increased its revenue. Findings by The Guardian newspaper indicate that annual income from land-related charges in the FCT has passed one trillion naira. Officials say this is the highest revenue in the territory's history .
This surge in revenue is linked to the aggressive recovery of unpaid ground rents, new penalty fees, and higher processing charges for land documents. A senior FCTA official suggested that at the current pace, monthly revenue could reach one hundred billion naira by the end of the year .
Despite the government's stance, some developers and residents have expressed concerns. They argue that the strict deadlines and high fees do not consider the current economic challenges. Some see the policy as overly harsh .
A real estate developer, Shehu Nuhu, described the policy as draconian. He said the cost of securing a Certificate of Occupancy, which can be between three and a half and six million naira, is unaffordable for many citizens .
Minister Wike has defended the reforms. He insists they are meant to stop land speculation and not to take property away from rightful owners. He has stated that anyone who cannot develop a plot of land in two years is a speculator. He also said that the 21-day deadline for fee payments is reasonable and needed to improve government revenue and efficiency .
With the new deadline set for November 25, 2025, property owners in the listed districts have a final chance to avoid government enforcement by paying the five million naira violation fee and regularizing their land documents .