FULL LIST: Wike Sets To Revoke 34 Embassies’ Land Tomorrow Over Ground Rent Enforcement

The report however, noted that the opposition Peoples Democratic, Federal Inland Revenue Service and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, who were also listed as defaulters, had settled their ground rent with the FCTA. …CONTINUE READING

The report noted that a publication by the FCTA revealed that many foreign missions had not paid their ground rents since 2014, with the affected diplomatic missions collectively owing N3,662,196.

It would be recalled that the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, on May, ordered officials to commence enforcement on 4,794 properties that were revoked due to non-payment of ground rent, spanning between 10 and 43 years.

But President Bola Tinubu intervened, granting a 14-day grace period, which ends on Monday (today ), to affected property holders to settle their outstanding obligations. The Director of Land, FCTA, Chijioke Nwankwoeze, disclosed that the defaulters would pay penalty fees of N2m and N3m respectively, depending on their locations.

The defaulting embassies, according to the report, include the Ghana High Commission Defence Section (N5,950); Embassy of Thailand (N5,350), Embassy of Côte d’Ivoire (N5,500); Embassy of the Russian Federation (N1,100); Embassy of the Philippines (N5,950); Royal Netherlands Embassy (N5,950); Embassy of Turkey (N3,350), and the Embassy of the Republic of Guinea (N5,950).

Also included are the embassies of Ireland (N500), Uganda (N5,950), Iraq (N550), and the Zambia High Commission, which owes (N1,189,990).
Other missions on the list include the Tanzania High Commission (N6,000), German Embassy (N1,000), Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo (N5,950), Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (N459,055), Embassy of the Republic of Korea (N5,950), and the High Commission of Trinidad and Tobago (N500).

The Embassy of Egypt (N5,950), Embassy of Chad (N5,950), Sierra Leone Commission (N5,900), High Commission of India (N150), Embassy of Sudan (N5,950), Embassy of Niger Republic (N500), and Kenya High Commission (N5,950) are also listed among the defaulters.

Others are the embassies of Zimbabwe (N500), Ethiopia (N5,950), and Indonesia (Defence Attaché), which has an outstanding balance of (N1,718,211).

The Delegation of the European Union (N1,500), Embassy of Switzerland (N5,950), Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia (N5,950), China’s Economic and Commercial Counselor’s Office (N12,000), South African High Commission (N4,950), and the Government of Equatorial Guinea (N1,137,240) also featured on the list.

Reacting, the Embassy of the Russian Federation firmly denied any outstanding debts.

“The Embassy pays all bills for the rent of the territory on which the Embassy complex is located in good faith and on time. The Embassy also has all necessary documents confirming payment,” it stated.

Similarly, the Embassy of Turkiye questioned its inclusion on the FCTA’s list, citing a possible administrative error.

A Turkish official told The Punch correspondent, “We have not received a formal notification about the debt. We regularly make our payments on time, and we will check if we are on the list because of a bureaucratic mistake or a misunderstanding, and will fix the issue as soon as possible.”

The German Embassy, in a chat with The PUNCH, clarified that no formal claim or demand regarding unpaid rent had been brought to its attention by the FCTA.

“We understand that you are referring to reports suggesting that the German Embassy in Abuja has outstanding rent obligations. We would like to clarify that no such claim or demand has been formally brought to our attention by the Federal Capital Territory Administration,” the embassy stated.

It further insisted that all official financial obligations relating to the embassy’s premises had been settled as of the end of 2024, adding that there are no known outstanding payments.

The Embassy of Ghana also told The PUNCH that even though it had not been notified officially of the development, it would reach out to the Foreign Affairs on ways to resolve the issue.The embassy stated, “The High Commission has noted the publication but has not been officially communicated to. We will liaise with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on this matter.” An official at the Sierra Leone Embassy said they were unaware of the issue and would verify the claim.

He noted, “I am not aware and I am not in the office now. On my return, I will inform my authorities to cross-check.”

Concerning the claims by some embassies that they were not indebted to the FCTA, spokesman for the FCT minister, Lere Olayinka, stated, “This claim will be promptly investigated and appropriate action will be taken.”