SAHARA REPORTERS
Chief Rita Lori-Ogbebor, the wife of late officer, Ikponmwosa Paul-Ogbebor, owner of Paulosa Nigeria Limited has accused the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike of granting approval for the Right of Occupancy (R of O) and Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) of their 2.5 hectares of estate land to one Saravera Nigeria Limited.
Saravera is said to be a company allegedly under control of the House of Representatives Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda.
The widow said she would fight the injustice of the purported re-allocation of the land to Wike’s political associate after the said property has been allocated to her family since 1984.
Paulosa Nigeria Limited is one of the pioneer construction companies that developed Federal Capital Territory Abuja with its residential estate located in the Life Camp area.
Rita Lori, while addressing a press conference in Abuja on the challenges they had faced with the FCTA over the property, wondered how the company could have gotten Ministerial approval for the title documents of both (R of O) and (C of O) within two months of application for land.
The dispute arises from allegations of land use violations and unpaid land charges, which the Minister claims justify revoking land titles and imposing penalties on landowners, including the Ogbebor family.
The Minister also alleged and branded the estate as a construction site that have become hideous for the criminals.
But contrary to the Minister’s claim,
Rita Lori-Ogbebor said they had all the valid documents which entitled them to the property as owner.
The 84-year-old businesswoman alongside her child said their family does not deserved to be treated in such a way despite her contribution to national development.
The family while tendering the evidence of part payment of the sum of N10,000,000:00
for ground rents said there was no timeline for the payment title documents in the document handed over to them by the Federal Capital Territory Administration ( FCTA).
Ogbebor family insisted that they had the right to be notified of the deadline and consequences of not paying the balance before serving them quit and demolition notice under one week and revocation letter on 9th December 2024.
The octogenarian voiced her frustration at the situation, stressing that the family’s land rights were being threatened despite their long-standing adherence to regulations.
Reflecting on her long history of service to Nigeria, Rita Lori-Ogbebor emphasised that at the age of 84, she should not have to appeal to the President to protect her family’s rights.
Chief Lori-Ogbebor highlighted her late husband’s significant contributions to the development of Abuja, including his role in bringing people from around the world to help build the city, and noted that after more than 40 years, their property was now at risk of demolition and reallocation.
The family had initiated the process to validate their land allocation in 2020, which had originally been approved during Mallam Nasir El-Rufai’s tenure as FCT Minister. In early 2023, the FCTA Minister Mohammed Musa Bello approved their request to restart the process.
However, complications arose when the family discovered that their plot number was missing from the system, making it impossible to generate receipts and complete further payments.
The issue led to the requirement of a new plot number, which the family was still awaiting approval for as of last year.
Osaruonanen Ogbebor, one of Rita Lori-Ogbebor’s sons, explained that their attempts to resolve the matter had been stalled by bureaucratic delays, with their file said to be awaiting approval on the FCTA Minister’s desk.
Osaruonanen emphasised that the failure to generate a plot number and process payments had led to unnecessary delays in resolving the issue.
He stated, “During Mallam Nasir El-Rufai’s tenure as FCT Minister, when recertification, verification, and validation of documents and land allocations were conducted, we initiated the process. After El-Rufai left, in 2020, we requested to restart the process. Then, the FCT Minister Mohammed Musa Bello approved it on 1 February 2023, and we made an initial deposit of N10 million.
“During the process of obtaining receipts, it was discovered that our plot number was not in the system. Without a plot number, a receipt cannot be generated, and further payments cannot be made due to improvements on the Remita platform. A plot number is now mandatory for any payment. They conducted a survey plan, which was required to issue us a new plot number. Since that survey plan last year, communication has been, ‘The file is on the FCT Minister’s table for approval.'”
Meanwhile, the Ogbebor family discovered that their plot had been reallocated to Saravera Nigeria Limited, a company not involved in the initial land allocation, with the same plot number that had been missing from the system.
Ikponmwosa Ogbebor, one of the son said they made the initial deposit of N10,000,000 out of N43,000,000 charge to the Abuja Geographical Information System (AGIS) on 1st February 2023 when the approval was granted to them.
“We find out that our Plot Number was not on the system and if you don’t have Plot Number on the system they cannot generate receipts for you. If you generate Remita for payment, you must put your Plot Number and if you don’t put it , you can’t make the payment.
“They came to do a survey plan which is part of the requirement to give us Plot Number but since then they keep telling us that the file is still on the Minister’s table.”
In a document with Ref. No FCDA/ELA.137 titled “ Conveyance of Approval of Temporary Right of Occupancy” made available to SaharaReporters the property was allocated to Paulosa Nigeria Limited on 17th August 1984.
While seeking clarification and resolution on the quit notice issued on 22nd November 2024 and demolition notice issued on 9th November 2024 Paulosa Nigeria Limited had in a letter requested for a detailed explanation of the alleged infractions or violations and copies of any relevant documents or reports that led to the issuance of the notice.
The company also requested for Information on any steps required to comply with AMMC regulations and resolve this matter amicably.
The letter dated 2ith November 2023 was addressed to the Director Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) with the title “REQUEST FOR CLARIFICATION AND RESOLUTION QUIT NOTICE ISSUED TO PAULOSA NIGERIA LIMITED AT LIFE XAMP ABUJA”
A source who confided in SaharaReporters said the bureaucratic bottlenecks being encountered by many people in attempt to make payments for Ground rents and Certificate of Occupancy ( C of O ) was deliberate and was aimed to reallocate people’s lands to their cronies.
The source alleged that Wike is doing everything possible to empower his political associates and allies ahead of 2027 and one of the strategies is to allocate lands to them at the choice area.
He said many more Nigerians will fall victims of land grabbing by Wike.
The source accused Wike and Saravera Nigeria Limited of gross misdemeanours for not following the extant procedures and due process in the payment of application fees and allocation of lands by granting approval for Right of Occupancy and Certificate of Occupancy within the space of two months.
Ikponmwosa Paul-Ogbebor, another son, expressed his disbelief at the reallocation, given the family’s significant investment and the unresolved issues with the land’s registration.
He noted that, despite the initial N10 million deposit and their continuous efforts to comply with the FCTA’s requirements, they were now facing the possibility of losing their property.
“Surprisingly, the property was reallocated to Saravera Nigeria Limited with our plot number 2241, which was supposedly missing in the system,” he stressed.
Ogbebor had insisted that the FCDA provide the receipt generated via Remita in making the payment for the land by the Saravera Nigeria Limited.
When SaharaReporters visited the estate, residents vowed to be run over and crushed by Wike’s bulldozer instead of leaving their homes which many of them have occupied since 1991.
The Senate had on Thursday asked the Wike, to halt further demolition of structures pending the outcome of its investigation into the matter.
The Senate also set up an ad hoc committee headed by the Deputy Senate President, Barau I. Jibrin, to ascertain the propriety or otherwise of the demolition exercise, and asked the minister to appear before the committee.
Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, however challenged those “using the Social Media to circulate falsehood” about their lands being grabbed by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to provide genuine evidence that they owned such land.
The FCT Minister’s Spokesperson challenged those claiming ownership of the land to provide Right of Occupancy or Certificate of Occupancy granted by the FCTA.
THIS STORY FIRST APPEARED IN SAHARA REPORTERS
