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JUST-IN: Wike Introduces Sweeping Reforms In FCT Land Administration

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The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has approved comprehensive reforms on land administration in the Territory begging from April 21.

 

Briefing journalists on the development on Friday in Abuja, the Director of Land Administration in FCTA, Chijioke Nwankwoeze, said the changes cover specific areas like conditions of grant of Statutory Right of Occupancy, contents of the Statutory Right of Occupancy Bill, contents of Letter of Acceptance/Refusal of offer of grant of Right of Occupancy, titling of Mass Housing and sectional interests, as well as regularisation of Area Council Land documents.

 

Nwankwoeze said: “We are here to intimate you of the broad and comprehensive reforms on land administration in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), that the Minister, Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, CON, has approved for implementation.

 

“These reforms, which will become operational from April 21, 2025, cover specific areas like conditions of grant of Statutory Right of Occupancy, contents of the Statutory Right of Occupancy Bill, contents of Letter of Acceptance/Refusal of offer of grant of Right of Occupancy, titling of Mass Housing and sectional interests, as well as regularization of Area Council Land documents.

 

“It should be noted that before now, deadline for payment of bills, rents, fees and charges is not specified in the Statutory Right of Occupancy bill, and no penalty for failure to make payment promptly. This has caused delay in revenue receivable due to non-collection of Right of Occupancy (R-of-O) and non-payment of bills, slower pace of infrastructural development, sustained land speculation and racketeering while huge expenses have been incurred by the FCT Administration through repeated advertisements and publications notifying the public on the need for collection of R-of-O and timely payment of bills and charges.”

 

He added that consequently, as against the unspecified period within which to collect the Right of Occupancy (R-of-O) and make full payment of the Statutory Right of Occupancy bills and charges, land allottees now have 21 days from the date of offer, to make full payment of all bills, fees, rents and charges prescribed on offers of Statutory Rights of Occupancy and submit a duly completed Letter of acceptance alongside evidence of payments, or lose the offer.

 

“Also, as against the lengthy period within which to develop allocated lands, the period within which to erect and complete developments on any land granted in the FCT is now two years from the date of the commencement of the R-of-O.

 

“Therefore, any R-of-O bills and any other payments made outside the stipulated 21 days shall be considered invalid while any land granted should be developed within two years.

 

“On lands previously allocated by Area Councils, the law stipulates that all lands in the FCT are urban land. It therefore becomes necessary that all land documents issued by the Area Councils are considered for regularisation to statutory titles in line with relevant statutes.

 

“It should be noted that in 2006, the Zonal Land, Planning and Survey offices of the six Area Councils were directed to submit all Area Council allocation lists, layouts, files and registers to Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS)/Lands Department, and this was done by the Area Councils.

 

“However, to date, out of the 261,914 Area Council land documents submitted for regularization, only 8,287 have been vetted, out of which only 2,358 were cleared, validated and regularized to statutory titles. The 8,287 were vetted from 2006 to 2023 (17 years), and this represents just 3.2% of the total land documents submitted for vetting and regularization as at today, the FCT Administration is still left with 253,627 submissions in its database.

 

“Area Council land documents successfully vetted and confirmed would have statutory titles on such lands issued and the allottees will have sixty days to make full payments of all bills, fees, rents and charges prescribed, failure of which the offers shall become invalid.

 

“On Mass Housing, it should be noted that the Mass Housing Programme was initiated in year 2000 to utilize the Public Private Partnership (PPP) strategy with the objective of providing affordable housing for the residents of FCT.

 

“However, from the inception of the Mass Housing programme in 2000 till date, out of the 445 Mass Housing allocations granted, only two developers have successfully met the terms and conditions.

 

“A new operational framework for titling of Mass Housing and Sectional Interests has been developed to fast-track the exercise efficiently, effectively and diligently, in line with the Minister’s vision to restore confidence in the administration of lands in the FCT.

“Currently, the holders/occupiers of properties within the various Mass Housing Estates in the FCT do not pay and bills, rents, fees and charges to the government despite having held and occupied the properties for decades.

“In recognition of the urgent need to issue titles to the beneficiaries of Mass Housing and Sectional Interests, all applications for titling are to be made by the Subscribers/Developers to the Department of land Administration for processing,” he stated.

Nwankwoeze also pointed out that processing of titles for Mass Housing and Sectional Interests shall commence on April 21, 2025, in line with the new operational framework.

-Leadership

Entertainment

Davido breaks silence after Grammy Award loss

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Five-time Grammy nominee, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has reacted after losing the Best African Music Performance category at the 68th Grammy Awards held in Los Angeles, United States.

 

The Afrobeats star shared a message of faith and resilience following the outcome of the ceremony, which took place on Sunday night at the Crypto.com Arena in California.

In a post on his Instagram page, Davido shared photos with his wife, Chioma, from the event and wrote, “Oluwa Dey my side,” alongside prayer and music emojis.
Hours later, he posted another set of pictures of himself and Chioma at the Grammys, reflecting on the loss in a longer caption.

“I said baby listen we lost again let’s not go ! she said ‘Be humble in victory and gracious in defeat’ we outside,” he wrote.
Chioma also reacted via her Instagram page, praising the singer, “You already know that you’re the perfect one, @davido,” she wrote, while sharing photos from the awards night.
Davido was nominated in the Best African Music Performance category at the 2026 Grammy Awards but lost to South African singer Tyla, who won with her song Push 2 Start.

Other nominees in the category included Burna Boy (Love), Ayra Starr and Wizkid (Gimme Dat), Davido (With You featuring Omah Lay), and Eddy Kenzo and Mehran Matin (Hope & Love).

The win marked Tyla’s second Grammy Award, following her first victory in 2024 for her hit single Water.

Speaking during the awards ceremony, the singer revealed that With You, featuring Omah Lay, almost did not make the final tracklist of his album 5IVE.
“Man, it’s so crazy because that song almost didn’t make the album. With You was not in anybody’s top five.
“And now look at it go. Every time I was performing it, my heart would just start beating like, what if I didn’t put this song?” he told OkayAfrica.

Davido also recounted how he learned about the Grammy nomination, saying the news came unexpectedly while he was in Dubai, days before his birthday.

“I was in the car, actually, checking a car, and then my phone rang. They were like, ‘Oh yeah, another nomination.’ I was like, wow. Thank God,” he said.

“With You” was released in April 2025 as the 17th track on Davido’s fifth studio album, 5IVE, and has since become one of his most successful recent records, surpassing 100 million streams on Spotify.

Despite the song’s success, Nigeria did not record a win at the 2026 Grammy Awards.
Davido said he is now focused on touring and releasing new music.

He is also billed to perform at Coachella 2026, where he will be the only Nigerian artiste on the festival lineup, performing on April 11 and April 18, 2026, in Indio, California.

-Guardian

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Kunle Afolayan gives reasons to marry many women

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Nollywood filmmaker, Kunle Afolayan, has stirred reactions after advising men to “marry many women” while reflecting on his upbringing in a polygamous home.

 

The actor and producer made the remarks at the watch party of Aníkúlápó: The Ghoul Awakens, with a clip from the event going viral on Tuesday.

Speaking at the event, Afolayan linked his existence and achievements to his late father’s decision to marry several wives.

“Without my father, there wouldn’t have been a KAP Village or even Kunle Afolayan. I am the seventh born of my father because my father had ten wives. For the men, marry many women, or rather be involved with many women. You know why? If my father didn’t, he would not have born me, and that is the honest truth. But today, a few of us are lifting his legacy. Life is short, death is constant. Nobody has life forever. Everybody has a period. Use your period,” he said.

While his daughter, Eyiyemi Afolayan, joined him on stage, the filmmaker compared his childhood experience with his relationship with his children.

“They are lucky. For her, staying by my side is luck. Do you know why? I couldn’t stand it with my father. My father didn’t know my school. My father didn’t know my date of birth. He did not know anything about me other than, ‘He is the son of that person.’ But today, I’m so proud of my father,” he added.

Afolayan also spoke about fatherhood.

“Sometimes when people say ‘Happy Father’s Day,’ I’m always saying whether he pays child support or not, he’s still a father. I have been going to court because I want to get a divorce. I don’t mind being in the witness box, and I experienced the shit, so that I can marry many wives,” he said.

He thereafter prayed for his daughter, praising her role in the series.

“Hephzibah, her mother is the one who gave her the name. I don’t care, but I am proud of you. You started with the film, you did the first season, and now with the second season, you did amazingly well. My good Lord will continue to increase you in wisdom, in knowledge, and in understanding. If this is your path, the good Lord will see you through.”
However, this is not the first time the filmmaker has spoken about his late father’s polygamous lifestyle.

In March 2021, Afolayan told BBC Pidgin that his father, Adeyemi Afolayan, who died in 1996, married 10 wives and had 25 children, a decision he said took a toll on the family.

“I would not want to marry many wives because my father had 10 wives and I knew what happened throughout that period. I knew that really distracted my father. In this age, nobody needs to tell you before you know what’s right,” he said at the time.

He also disclosed that growing up in a polygamous home affected bonding among the children due to language and other barriers.

Afolayan further narrated how he battled poverty in his early years, revealing that he once lived in a one-room apartment in Ebute-Metta and sometimes had to deal with flooding.

“I was born in Ebute-Metta and have lived in one-room apartment before that we even have to grapple with flood sometimes. It’s not shame to say have been poor before. But if you see how l made it, it’s a matter of consistency. My father was a very popular filmmaker and ordinarily, people would expect me to life the kind of live akin to Hollywood stars,” he said.

“But that wasn’t the case. How would one live such life when you’re living in a room with ten women. That doesn’t mean there was no love among us.”

He had advised young filmmakers to start with the little resources available to them while working towards their dreams.

 

-Guardian

 

 

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Court adjourns Ganduje’s corruption trial to April 15

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A Kano State High Court has adjourned until April 15 the trial of former governor Abdullahi Ganduje, his wife, Hafsat Umar, and son, Abdullahi Umar, alongside five other defendants, over alleged misappropriation of public funds amounting to billions of naira.

 

The defendants are facing an 11-count charge bordering on bribery, conspiracy, misappropriation, and diversion of public funds. The remaining accused persons are Abubakar Bawuro, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Ltd, Safari Textiles Ltd, and Lasage General Enterprises Ltd.

At the resumed hearing, the prosecution told the court it was ready to proceed and drew attention to a motion dated November 24, 2025, seeking leave to file additional proof of evidence.

However, defence lawyers raised objections, informing the court that multiple applications were pending and must be resolved before the trial could continue.

Lydia Oluwakemi-Oyewo, counsel to some of the defendants, said the defence had filed a motion dated July 17, 2025, seeking a stay of proceedings.
Adekunle Taiye-Falola, representing the third and seventh defendants, also referred to a separate motion dated May 23, 2025.
In addition, Muhammad Shehu, counsel to the fifth defendant, told the court that an affidavit had been filed notifying it of a pending application for stay of proceedings before the Court of Appeal.
Abubakar Ahmad, counsel to the sixth defendant, informed the court that he had filed a notice of preliminary objection and an application for extension of time to respond on points of law dated February 2, urging the court to fix a date for hearing.

Only Faruk Asekome, counsel to the eighth defendant, indicated readiness to proceed with the trial.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the presiding judge, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu, adjourned the matter to April 15 for the hearing of all pending applications and preliminary objections.

The trial has suffered repeated delays due to legal challenges. The high court had earlier dismissed preliminary objections raised by the defence as “incompetent” and affirmed its jurisdiction to hear the case.
That ruling was appealed by the defendants, who argued that the trial court lacked jurisdiction. However, in October 2025, the Kano Division of the Court of Appeal struck out the appeal, citing failure to properly transmit the record of appeal.

-Guardian

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