The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has strongly condemned what it described as an unwarranted and embarrassing invasion of its offices in Abuja on Monday by officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) over an alleged ground rent default.
Shortly after sealing its premises, the FIRS Chairman, Dr Zach Adedeji, went to the presidential Villa to meet with President Bola Tinubu.
However, earlier at a press conference held at the FIRS headquarters in Abuja, senior officials of the agency, including the Director of Facility Management, Mr. Tyofa Abeghe; Special Adviser on Infrastructure, Mr. Kunle Ogidi; and members of the Media Team; Mr. Dare Adekanmbi, Mr. Collins Omokaro, and Aderonke Atoyebi, unanimously decried the action by FCTA officials and demanded a public apology.
The FCTA had claimed that FIRS owed 25 years of unpaid ground rent on two of its properties located at No. 12 and No. 14 Sokode Crescent, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja. However, FIRS insists the claim is baseless and misleading.
“The allegation that we owe ground rent is completely false,” said Mr. Tyofa Abeghe. “We received a demand notice dated September 2023 from the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS), and we responded appropriately. The amount of N2,364,003.26 was paid within three months of receiving that notice.”
Abeghe further explained that after the payment was made, the agency became concerned that no official receipt or confirmation had been issued. To address the issue, he wrote a follow-up letter dated February 19, 2024, to AGIS requesting confirmation of the payment and the issuance of a treasury receipt. The letter, he said, was acknowledged by AGIS but was never acted upon.
“Despite our due diligence, our offices were invaded as if we were lawbreakers,” Abeghe said. “This is not only embarrassing but entirely unjustified.”
Echoing his sentiments, Special Adviser on Infrastructure, Mr. Kunle Ogidi, described the incident as “administrative rascality,” and criticized the FCTA for acting without verifying records.
“If they had taken the time to review the records, they would have seen that the rent had been settled,” Ogidi said. “This is not how two government agencies should relate.”
He emphasized that the FIRS is a responsible and law-abiding institution that would never default on statutory obligations such as ground rent.
