FCT tackles over 500 multiple land issues

The FCT Administration has resolved over 500 cases of double and multiple land allocations as well as various court cases relating to land in the Federal Capital Territory.

The FCT Director of Land Administration, Adamu Jibrin, who made the disclosure,, yesterday, while briefing newsmen in Abuja, remarked that such court cases were resolved through arbitration.

The director recalled that in April 2016, the FCT Minister, Muhammad Musa Bello, established a 10-Member Land Appeals and Petitions Committee in order to institutionalise machinery for quick dispensation of justice on all land appeals and petitions in Abuja which, he said, has been yielding positive results.

He said some of the land cases are up to 10 years old but that this administration has taken the bull by the horn to resolve them and further put mechanism in place to prevent reoccurrence through the use of Information Technology (IT).

Jibrin said the current FCT administration is promptly addressing appeals and petitions from the public and has henceforth put an end to injustice and impunity in the FCT land administration processes.

The director further recalled that in September 2016, in order to ensure that due process was followed, the administration constituted a 12-member FCT Land Use and Allocation Committee (LUAC) in line with the provisions of the Land Use Act 1978, which he said has also assisted the ease of doing business as launched by the Federal Government.

He revealed that the FCT Administration decided to close down all zonal planning offices in the six area councils of the territory due to fraudulent activities.

The director insisted that no reasonable government would watch fraud being perpetrated and innocent persons fleeced.

Jibrin reiterated that nobody is allowed to allocate any parcel of land within the 8,000 square kilometres of the Federal Capital Territory but the FCT minister who is also acting on the delegated authority of Mr. President who is the Governor-General of FCT.

He emphasised that all actions taken or allocations made by the erstwhile zonal planning offices remain invalid until regularized and approved by the FCT minister.

“All area councils’ titles are invalid until regularized and approved by the Honourable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory after being vetted by the interdepartmental committee set up to handle the Accelerated Area Councils and Sectional Titles Re-Issuance Scheme (AACSTRIS) project,” he added.

The director disclosed that this administration has likewise signed and delivered over 1,000 Certificates of Occupancy because the process has been shortened in the spirit of the Executive Order on ease of doing business.

“The process is shortened because once a plot owner pays for Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O), the title document is promptly taken to the honourable minister for his signature and is delivered to the owner in record time,” he said.