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By Oscar Okhifo
The national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja remained sealed on Wednesday 36 hours after President Bola Tinubu directed the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to suspend enforcement actions against property defaulters and unseal affected premises.
Recall that thousands of properties across the FCT were recently sealed for failure to pay ground rent. While the hoopla spread , President Tinubu directed the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to unseal all 3,794 affected properties, including the PDP headquarters.
However, as of 11AM on Wednesday, the PDP headquarters remained locked, with a padlock bearing the FCTA’s seal and an official sticker still affixed to the gate.
President Tinubu had also granted a 14-day grace period for defaulting property owners to settle outstanding ground rent payments along with a penalty of N2 million and to regularize their land titles.
A visit by Pointblanknews.com to the area revealed that other hitherto sealed properties in Wuse Zone 5, such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Ibro Hotel, Total Filling Station, and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), had already been unsealed in line with the President’s directive.
A PDP staff member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, claimed FCTA officials visited the area but avoided unsealing the party’s premises.
“I was here yesterday when the FCTA staff came around. They went to FIRS, Ibro Hotel, NAPTIP and unsealed all of them. When they came to our office, they quickly drove away.
“I followed them to their office and met with the director of Lands but he said that they are still waiting for instructions from AGIS to unseal PDP,” the source said.
In a telephone conversation with our correspondent, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, stated, “I will rather not want to talk about it right now. We shall take the appropriate action at the right time.” He said while declining to answer further questions.