From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
In a decisive move to address decades-old challenges in land administration, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has constituted Vetting Teams to accelerate the regularisation of land allocations in Abuja’s six Area Councils and Mass Housing schemes.
Announcing the initiative at the inauguration of the teams, FCT Director of Land Administration, Chijioke Nwankwoeze, emphasized the administration’s commitment to ending long-standing irregularities. “This is a bold and irreversible step. The minister has given clear directives, with specific mandates and timelines,” Nwankwoeze declared. “We are poised to resolve the lingering issues that have hindered plot regularization and issuance of titles for mass housing developments”.
Nwankwoeze highlighted the scope of the reforms: “With this approach, all subscribers of unit houses in the Mass Housing Programmes across the 8,000 square kilometers of the Federal Capital Territory will be captured and be given titles for their individual housing units.”
He added, “The government has deployed machinery to put to rest all lingering issues affecting the Area Councils plots allocation regularization and titling of delivered houses in all Mass Housing programmes”.
The Director underscored the significance of the reforms for public trust. “The constitution of the Teams will ensure sanitation of land administration and restore public confidence in the management of land assets in the Territory, because the Minister has the ‘political will’ to drive it to logical conclusion,” he said. He further described the Vetting Teams as “a bold and irreversible step toward restoring sanity and public trust in the FCT’s land system”.
Calling for cooperation, Nwankwoeze urged developers and homeowners to support the process, assuring, “The FCT Administration is committed to effective service delivery to all developers, titleholders and would-be titleholders, in consonance with the principles and aspirations of the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu”.
Officials say the reforms are part of the Accelerated Area Council Title and Sectional Title Reissuance Scheme (AACSTRIS), designed to speed up land title issuance and correct past lapses in allocation and registration. “This exercise is not just about documentation; it’s about trust and accountability,” Nwankwoeze concluded.