Senate moves to recover N16trn unpaid ground rent

The Nigerian senate has set up an ad hoc committee to investigate and recover the over six trillion naira accrued from the non-payment of ground rate from property owners across the country.

The resolution of the upper chamber follows a motion by Senator Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf (APC, Taraba Central) soming under orders 41 and 51 of the senate standing rules.

According to him, the land use act has vested ownership rights to the federal government over its land in states and the federal capital territory.

He stated that the rights include the power to control and regulate town planning, and physical development in relation to such lands and by extension prescribing and collection of any tax, fees or rates.

The lawmaker lamented that since 1992, over two million houses across the 36 states of the federation, including FCT have been built and allocated to beneficiaries by the federal government, yet majority have no  evidence of  payment of ground rate on their properties

He noted that with the current revenue challenges facing the country, there is a need for the government to look into other means of generating income than relying on oil revenue.

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He further stated that investigation reveals that, the failure of relevant authorities to recover these funds has led the country to losing over N6 trillion.

Lawmakers took turns, calling on the federal government to come up with a computerized system where all allotted lands and properties, persons yet to pay and fashion out mode of recovering these funds.

The Senate resolved to constitute an ad hoc committee to investigate the inability of federal ministry of works and housing to investigate and recover these incomes for the government.

The upper chamber is to also investigate the circumstances that led to the inability of the land use act allocation committee, saddled with the responsibility of handing rent and license matters to carry out their responsibility on the matter.

The upper chamber also called for a comprehensive data of federal government property that are sold to the public under the ministry of works and housing across the country.

The committee members includes: Adamu Aliero (PDP, Kebbi Central) Sani Musa (APC, Niger East)

Sam Egwu (PDP, Ebonyi North), Smart Adeyemi (APC, Kogi West), Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central)

Betty Apiafi (PDP, Rivers West) and Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf (APC, Taraba Central). The committee has one month to report back to plenary.