News
FCT residents and the Tenement Rate bills
By Nkiru Zikora
There is a great outcry by the residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja over exorbitant and excessive tenement rate being levied on them. Besides the exorbitant value of the tenement rate, residents living in newly developed estates also complain of being levied tenement rates in arrears for periods that the properties were under development or unoccupied.
Tenement rate is a tax imposed on developed and occupied properties within a local government jurisdiction by the Local Government Authority or as is the case of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Area Council Authority. The powers of local government/area council authority to assess, levy and collect tenement rate on properties within their jurisdiction is derived in pursuant to the provisions of Section 7 and the 4thSchedule to the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; and Taxes and Levies (Approved List of Collection) Act No. 21 of 1998. Tenement rates are levied only on developed and occupied properties. Undeveloped and or unoccupied properties cannot and must not be levied.
A quick view of FCT’s Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) Tenement Rate Collection Bye-Law (No. 22) 2012 as amended gazetted in 2019 reveals the establishment of a valuation office which shall be under the supervision of the Local Government Revenue Committee to carry out the assessment of all rateable properties within the area council [Section 1(1)].
Section 1(4) states that valuation office shall consist of a Head of Valuation and such number of staff necessary to assist the head of valuation. Further, section 3 stipulates the appointment of a qualified Estate Surveyor and Valuer registered with the Estate Surveyor and Valuers Registration Board to work under the control and supervision of the Head of valuation to assess the rateable properties.
While Section 4 requires the appraiser to gather all the information orally or written as the case maybe and which may affect the assessed value of a tenement. This is to enable him to give a proper assessment of the property. The Tenement Rate Bye-Law for Bwari Area Council revealed that it is about the same with that of AMAC. So both the AMAC and Bwari Area Council’s tenement rates are provided to be at uniform rate of 4k per Nairage of the calculated assessed value (annual value).
The tenement rate is usually levied and paid annually by the property occupant and the amount payable each year is to be assessed based on the annual value of the subject property. The tug of war however still rage between the landlord and the tenant concerning whose responsibility it is to pay the tenement rates.
As stated already, the law provides that it is the responsibility of the occupier of the property to pay tenement rate and other rates, bills or charges on a rented or leased property. To avoid any conflict arising from the usual debate about whose responsibility tenement rate payments fall, it is advisable to spell this out in the tenancy agreement. This helps bring clarity from the beginning of the tenancy relationship between the Landlord and tenant on who is responsible to pay tenement and other rates. However, in the event where such provisions are not clearly stated in the tenancy agreement, by operation of the law, the occupier of the property, usually the tenant bears the primary liability to pay the tenement rate whether the provision is specified in the tenancy agreement or not.
No doubt, the Local Government/Area Council Authorities have the right by law to assess, levy and collect tenement rate on developed and occupied properties within their areas of jurisdiction. However, there is need for the FCT local authorities to continue to create awareness about the legality of tenement rates.
They should equally endeavour to address the strident outcry about what these residents consider as arbitrary and excessive rates imposed on their properties especially in the light of the current harsh economic climate. Occupiers of property continue to insist that their properties were not assessed given that they were never visited by the rating agents to secure necessary information needed for the computation of their property rateable value.
Though the imposition of taxes or rates on the populace especially property taxes may seem a very attractive way through which the government raises revenue, it must be carefully handled to avoid impoverishing the more the already poor masses. There is the urgent need therefore for the FCT Area Councils to consider the dire economic situation in Nigeria presently and ensure that the tenement rates are judiciously assessed and computed as is stipulated in the law.
Zikora, an Estate Surveyor and Valuer, writes from Abuja.
Nigeria would not be in the sort of socio-political and economic mess it is currently facing but for the cowardice of the present crop of governors, Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers state, said on Tuesday, saying the country needed courageous leadership at the state levels to confront the ugly situation.
As chairman at the public presentation of Sule Lamido’s autobiography titled: Being True To Myself, written by Sule Lamido, former Governor of Jigawa State, Amaechi, who later became a two-time Minister of Transportation under President Muhammadu Buhari, bewailed the parlous political situation where governors could no longer speak for the people.
Stressing the timidity of his successors, the former governor, who was apparently miffed at the rate at which opposition governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), were defecting to the ruling APC, in spite the parlous economic situation in the country, he said such a crisis would never have been allowed during his own time.
Amaechi, who was chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) during Lamido’s second term, but eventually defected to the APC to lead the campaign for the election of Buhari, told his audience: “I asked you (Lamido) this morning, what is going on currently in the country, in Nigerian politics — would it have happened when we were governors?
“You said no. And the answer is no. We would confront the government, confront the President. That’s how radical we were, that’s how our governors forum operated, that’s how determined we were to change things.”
Dwelling on his relationship with the ex-Jigawa governor, who was in office between 2007 and 2015, Amaechi said their working relationship was strong, despite occasional disagreements — including Lamido’s initial objection to his election as NGF chairman.
“We were quite good friends in government. We had our bad times when we disagreed. I made the mistake of assuming he was as radical as I was. So, he was one of the governors I clung to when it came to radical decisions. The last one before we broke ranks was when we all agreed to go against President Jonathan. We formed a committee of governors and others.
“At the end of the day, he went to find a new party, the SDP. We said, ‘If we go to the SDP, we will lose the election. Let’s hang on to this one called the APC.’ He disagreed and left us. That’s where we parted ways. You must never forget the battles we fought.”
“There is no question that there are huge challenges. But if you look at the balance sheet that this President inherited — massive liabilities arising from the very reckless misuse of ways and means — you’d understand why these steps were necessary.”
These were the exact words of Adams Oshiomhole, Senator, representing Edo North at the National Assembly on the state of the Nigerian economy, expressing confidence that the way the President was going, it would not be long before the parlous situation would experience a marked improvement.
Oshiohmole, former Governor of Edo State and former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who was a guest of Politics Today, a public affairs progromme on Channels Television, said on Tuesday, Nigerians were justified to feel unhappy over the rising cost of living and the closure of businesses since the removal of fuel subsidy in 2023, but urged them to be patient and maintain trust in the reforms.
He added: “It’s a work in progress. The surgeon has gone to carry out the surgery. He understands that there is a level of pain — there has to be pain. But the good news is that the patient is healing. Maybe he could heal faster, but there can be no question that the patient is healing.”
Stressing on the issue of the exchange rate unification as a painful but critical decision to align supply with demand, he warned that failure to do so could have plunged the country into a Zimbabwe-like economic collapse, adding: “The consequential increase in cost of living was predictable. But if that was not done, Nigeria was on its way to Zimbabwe.
“President Tinubu deliberately chose to make all the difficult but necessary decisions in his first term to pave the way for long-term recovery. He took the right decision by insisting that in the first term, he would take all the tough decisions — prayerfully — so that as we move on, the situation improves.
“There is no magic to governance. I don’t think any Nigerian who understands the macroeconomic environment that was inherited by this government would expect that, in 24 months, everything would be fixed. Truly, this economy was badly mismanaged. This is not to blame anyone, but to speak to fact. I can say the worst is over, and we are going to begin to witness improvements in standard of living.
“As a governor, it took me time to have a holistic view of the challenges I inherited and to decide, in terms of priority, what to do first. As a Nigerian, I live in the community and among the people. I can say that there is a level of hardship, but things are improving.”
“Given where we are today in the economy, Tinubu will still win the presidential election. The President eliminated an exploitative foreign exchange regime that previously benefited only a privileged few. Tinubu abolished the ‘benefit of exchange rate’ transfer to bureau de change. Today, what he gets in exchange rate is what I get. Eliminating that free rate — which was available to a few people connected with the CBN management — took courage.”
Senate on Wednesday brushed aside the objections of Abdul Ningi, Senator representing Bauchi South at the National Assembly to commence acerated hearing on a whopping ₦1.783 trillion statutory appropriation bill for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The bill for the appropriation of the amount, came through President Bola Tinubu to the Senate in charge of making laws for the FCT, urging them to approve the proposal for the 2025 financial year.
Shortly after reading the letter transmitting the proposal, the upper chamber on Wednesday, harkened to the request of the President to give the bill expedited consideration, noting that its passage was critical to ensuring an effective and service-oriented administration for residents of the FCT.
But an attempt by the Bauchi Senator, elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to halt debates on it pending when the members were abreast of the details was ignored as the Senate invoked Order 78 to allow the bill to scale second reading the same day it was introduced.
Palpably dissatisfied, Ningi, who was once suspended for questioning the financial integrity of the Senate, had raised concerns about the procedure under Order 77 (3 and 4), pointing out that lawmakers had not been provided with copies of the bill prior to the debate.
Leading the debate on the bill, after the objections were brushed aside, Opeyemi Bamidele, Senate Leader, explained that the proposed legislation seeks to authorise the issuance of ₦1,783,823,708,392.00 trillion from the FCT Administration’s Statutory Revenue Fund to finance personnel, overhead, and capital expenditures between January 1 and December 31, 2025.
The budget breakdown includes N150.35 billion for personnel costs, N343.78 billion for overhead, and N1.29 trillion allocated for capital projects.
Bamidele underscored that the primary objective of the budget was to drive an effective and enduring service-oriented administration, with a strong focus on completing ongoing projects that have significant impacts on infrastructure and essential services in Abuja.
He noted that the budget prioritises the continuation of existing projects in the FCT, with the introduction of new ones deemed crucial.
It was on the same day that the Senate also confirmed the appointment of five Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) submitted by the President in March for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The confirmation, which followed the receipt and consideration of a report by Simon Lalong, Chairman of Senate Committee on Electoral Matters during plenary on Wednesday, who urged members to confirm the nominees having passed the screening exercise.
The approved RECs are Umar Yusuf Garba (Kano State), Sa’ad Umar Idris (Bauchi State), Chukwuemeka C. Ibeziako (Anambra State), Umar Mukhtar (Borno State) and Dr. Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem (Bayelsa State).
Tinubu having his way because today’s governors are cowards – Amaechi
Tinubu almost clearing Buhari’s economic mess – Oshomhole
Wike to get N1.78trillion as 2025 budget *Senate ignores Ningi’s objection
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