Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike yesterday rejected the appeal of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) to upturn the revocation of its land.
Wike told a delegation of the NCS, led by its Acting Comptroller General, Bashir Adeniyi, during a visit to his office, that the service would have to pay penalties to reclaim the land.
The minister faulted the failure of the NCS to develop the land after FCT Administration’s approval, stressing that when the certificate of ownership of land is reissued, the service must also pay ground rent.
He said,
“Frankly speaking, we will look at it and see what we can do. Whether or not you are going to pay a penalty, you will pay a penalty. That is what we are going to do.”
But the minister approved a piece of land for building primary and secondary schools for children NCS workers in the FCT.
He said the approval would be on the condition that the NCS would commit to developing the land within a time frame, failure of which would lead to the repossession of the given land.
Wike said,
“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 it within a certain number of years. If not, the FCT should take back the land. I will not allocate land that will lay till thy kingdom come. So, you must convince me that you are indeed serious about building schools for the children of your staff and our children.”
Adeniyi said the purpose of the visit was to congratulate Wike on his appointment as FCT minister and his achievements so far.
He described the NCS as a critical stakeholder in the FCT with up to 2,500 officers living and contributing to the development of the territory.