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 rent from property owners across the country.
The resolution of the upper chamber follows a motion by Senator Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf (APC, Taraba Central ) Coming 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 many have no evidence of payment of ground rent 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 loosing over six trillion naira.
Reacting, Senator Sam Egwu and the chairman senate committee on housing, pointed out that the ministry of works and housing saddled with the responsible of overseeing the housing sector is overburdened, with the merger of two ministries of works and housing
According to him, works ministry consumes about 70 percent of the total allocation while housing takes only 30 percent, and as such the ministry of housing is not given the required attention.
Other lawmakers took turns calling on the Federal Government to come up with a computerized system where all allotted lands and property, persons yet to pay and fashion out mode of recovering these funds.
The senate resolved to constitute an adhoc committee to investigate the inability of the federal ministry of works and housing to investigate and recover these sources of income 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 responsible of handling rent and licence matter, to carry out their responsibility
The adhoc committee is to investigate all activities of the presidential implementation committee for the sales of government property.
Ground rent is a tax charged and collected by the government on lands developed or undeveloped.
The committee members include
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)
Yusuf Abubarkar Yusuf (APC, Taraba Central )
The committee has one month to report back to the house
Editor: Paul Akhagbemhe
