The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has disclosed that foreign embassies and high commissions owed ground rents of $5,368,218 million in 2023.
FCTA listed the 43 embassies and high commissions in an advertorial published on national dailies Tuesday, warning defaulters to pay within two weeks or face revoking their title.
Some defaulters are the U.S. Embassy for Peace, the British High Commission, the South African High Commission, and the Zambia High Commission.
Others owing outstanding ground rents are Senegal, Algeria, Russia, Turkey, Spain, Korea, Cote d’Ivoire, and France.
Also on the list are Iraq, Eritrea, Belgium, Tunisia, Niger Republic, Angola, Thailand, Bulgaria, Thailand, Germany, Venezuela, Zambia, Cameroon, Japan, and Togo, among others.
According to the list, the Indonesian embassy had the highest debt of over $2$2,003,376; others owed N2,205,079,937, with the French embassy having the lowest, $323.
“FCT Administration hereby reminds the general public, particularly allottees of land(s) within the FCT, of their obligation to the FCTA as stipulated in the covenanted terms of the Certificate of Occupancy to wit to pay in advance, without demand to the Honourable Minister, FCT, the annual ground rent
from the first day of January of each year.
“All allottees, property owners as well as beneficiaries of the sale of federal government houses in the FCT who could not pay or settle their outstanding ground rents for the year 2023 are hereby advised in their interest to ensure payment within two (2) weeks from the date of this publication,” the advertorial read.