FCTA Sets Up Committees On Sale Of Gov’t Houses, Parks Designation

The FCTA said the move is aimed at implementing ministerial directives following the discovery of serious irregularities and infractions in the sale of Federal Government houses in the territory.

By Toffa Momoh, Abuja

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has inaugurated two vetting committees to review the sale of Federal Government-Owned Houses and oversee the titling of designated park plots in Abuja.

This was disclosed by Chijioke Nwankwoeze, Director of Land Administration, during the inauguration of the committees at his office on Wednesday.

Mr Nwankwoeze explained that the move was to implement ministerial directives after discovering serious irregularities and infractions in selling federal government houses in the FCT.

According to a statement signed by the Assistant Director of Information and Customer Service, Badaru Yakassai, the irregularities and infractions uncovered include “deviations from approved mandate, improper verifications, late payments, inadequate documentation, poor interdepartmental coordination and other specific infractions.”

Mr Nwankwoeze said the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, approved the committees’ formation with clear directives, mandate and terms of reference, to ensure that all processes are completed within a reasonable time frame.

Mr Nwankwoeze said the committee assigned to vet the sale of government houses is expected “to restore order, accountability and transparency in line with the original 2003–2005 monetisation and sales policy framework of the federal government.”

He also stated that the second committee has been tasked with reviewing the titling of designated park plots in the FCT.

Its mandate includes aligning the activities of the Department of Parks and Recreation with the administration’s current land reform policies.

Mr Nwankwoeze described the move as “bold and irreversible,” adding that the administration is committed to resolving lingering issues surrounding government land and housing allocations in the territory.

“He emphasised that the government has deployed machinery to put to rest all lingering issues surrounding the sales of the federal government’s houses and designated park plots in the territory,” the statement read.

The director expressed confidence that the committees would help rebuild public trust in the system, noting that the FCT Minister has the political will to implement the changes.

“This is because the FCT Minister has the ‘political will’ to drive it to a logical conclusion, and this forms part of the aspirations of the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Mr Nwankwoeze stated.