Jonathan Re-Instates Revoked Abuja Plots

PRESIDENT  Goodluck Jonathan has approved the immediate restoration of titles to all those whose plots were revoked by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

To this end, all plots allocated between the May 17  and 28, 2007 by the Mallam Nasir El’Rufai-led FCT administration but revoked following a resolution reached by the Senate in 2007 have been re-instated.

The approval, according to the FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed, was in keeping with overriding public interest and the transformation agenda of the government.

Mohammed, at the weekend said that the revocation of the 3,645 plots of land allocated between May 17 and 28, 2007 in FCT arose from a resolution reached by the Senate in 2007 based on the report by the Senate Committee on FCT that investigated the activities of the El’Rufai-led FCT Minister administration.

Specifically, the Senate had then recommended the withdrawal of 3,645 plots from title holders on ground that they were allocated between May 17 to 29, 2007 when the Federal Executive Council (FEC) was already dissolved.

But, the FCT Mohammed said: “it was however, later discovered and confirmed by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) that the FEC was not dissolved until  May 29, 2007 when power was transmitted to the succeeding federal administration.”

The minister stressed that “in view of that discovery and the fact that the implementation of the Senate resolution by the succeeding FCT Administration had inflicted pains on owners of such titles and in many cases resulted in court litigations, the matter was revisited by the Sixth Senate which subsequently withdrew its earlier resolution.” 

“Based on the above, the FCT Administration recommended to the President to approve the following steps to be taken immediately:

 That all titles revoked as a result of the then Senate resolutions on revoked titles in 2007 are hereby re-instated.

That the beneficiaries of affected titles by the same revocation who have instituted suits against the FCT Administration are hereby advised to immediately withdraw such suits to pave way for amicable resolution.

That all affected plots that have been re-allocated to third parties, which are yet to be developed or attain substantial level of development shall be cancelled and titles regularized in favour of the original allottees; and

That affected allotees whose plots have been substantially developed by third parties with approved building plans granted by the Department of Development Control shall be considered for alternative plots of land.

Mohammed revealed that titles that have been in one way or the other cancelled or revoked by court judgments or Administrative investigations and actions of the FCT Administration shall remain cancelled/revoked.

Source: Guardian