Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has rejected an appeal by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) for reconsideration of its revoked land, insisting that the Service would have to pay penalties to reclaim the land.
FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, stated this yesterday when he received a delegation of the NCS led by its acting comptroller-general, Bashir Adeniyi.
He faulted the failure of the NCS to develop the land after several years it was allocated, adding that when the certificate of ownership of the land is reissued, the Service must also pay ground rent.
“Frankly speaking, we’ll look at it and see what we can do. Whether you are going to pay a penalty, you’ll pay a penalty. That is what we are going to do”, he said.
He said that FCTA would support the service to achieve its aims and objectives, but lamented how government agencies were allocated land in FCT and refused to develop them.
The minister, however, approved a piece of land for the establishment of primary and secondary schools, for children of staff of the NCS, stating that the approval would be on the condition that the NCS would commit to developing the land within a time frame or face another revocation.
“Be rest assured that I am going to approve the land for the school. You bring the application; I will sign it and give it to the Director of Lands to give you the land that you can use. Schools are very important. It is not only the children of customs officers that will attend the schools.
“My policy now is that before we give land to any agency, it must commit that it will develop the land within a certain number of years, and if not, the FCT should take back the land. I will not allocate land that will lay till thy kingdom comes. So, you must convince me that you are indeed serious about building schools for the children of your staff and our children”.
Earlier, Adeniyi had said the purpose of the visit was to congratulate the minister on his appointment and his achievements so far.
He described the customs service as a critical stakeholder in the FCT with more than 2,000 officers residing in the FCT and contributing to the development of the city.
