FG gives titled property owners nationwide 60 days to pay ground rent or face C of O revocation 

The Federal Government has given owners of its titled properties nationwide a 60-day deadline to pay outstanding ground rent and other statutory charges or face revocation of their Certificates of Occupancy (C of O).

Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Musa Dangiwa, announced this on Wednesday at the 29th Conference of Directors of Lands in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) held in Abuja, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The conference, themed “Equitable Land Stewardship: Challenges of Land Administration and Its Impact on Climate and Community Rights,” brought together key stakeholders from federal and state agencies.

Dangiwa noted that many property owners have defaulted on payments, costing the government trillions of naira in revenue. He stressed that the Ministry, under the current administration, no longer tolerate such non-compliance, as these funds are critical to national development efforts.

“The Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is aware that several owners of its titled properties have failed to pay ground rent and other statutory charges to the Ministry for several years now. 

“This non-compliance has resulted in the loss of trillions of Naira in revenue to the Federal Government. 

“Under the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, this cannot be tolerated as this revenue is much needed to deliver the Renewed Hope Agenda to Nigerians. 

“As such all Federal C of O title owners are hereby given a 60-day notice to settle all outstanding ground rent and statutory charges. Failure to make payment within this period will result in the revocation of their C of Os,’’ Dangiwa said.

The minister also noted that some residents’ associations in Federal Government-owned estates have obstructed ministry officials from conducting billing and enforcing payments.

Dangiwa warned that these associations must comply with the terms of their Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) to avoid penalties and sanctions.

More insight 

The report further noted that Dangiwa disclosed the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has enhanced the Electronic Certificate of Occupancy (e-C of O) and Land Titling System for all federal government-owned lands across Nigeria’s 36 states.

The upgraded system integrates a web-based Advanced Workflow System (WNABS) and an Electronic Documentation Management System (EDMS) to streamline the review, approval, and issuance processes, significantly reducing administrative bottlenecks and processing times.

He noted that as of October 2024, over 600 e-C of O applications have been digitally approved, with plans to clear the remaining backlog by December.

This initiative is part of a broader national land titling program, developed in partnership with the World Bank and other stakeholders, aimed at unlocking $300 billion in untapped capital tied to unregistered land.