You Will Pay Penalty – Wike Rejects Customs’ Appeal On Revoked Land

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike has told the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) that the service must pay penalties over its revoked land in Abuja.

Wike gave the condition when he played host to a delegation of the NCS, led by the Acting Comptroller-General, Bashir Adeniyi.

The Minister said the revocation of land would be looked into but the service would pay a penalty to reclaim the land.

The minister faulted the failure of the NCS to develop the land after it had been given by the FCT, adding that when the certificate of ownership of the land is reissued, the service must also pay ground rent.

He said: “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.”

The Minister however gave approval for the NCS to establish primary and secondary schools, for children of staff of the Nigerian Customs Service in the Federal Capital Territory on the condition that the service would commit to developing the land within a time frame, failure of which would lead to the repossession of the given land.

Wike: “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 come. So, you must convince me that you are indeed serious about building schools for the children of your staff and our children.”

Earlier, the Acting CG of the NCS, Bashir Adeniyi, said the purpose of the visit was to congratulate Wike on his appointment as FCT Minister, and his achievements so far.