FCTA threatens to revoke titles of hotels, event centres used by illegal groups

By Adebola Isimijola, Lagos

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has warned owners of hotels, event centres and other public facilities in Abuja against allowing illegal organisations to use their premises for meetings and gatherings, threatening to revoke the titles of affected properties.

The warning was contained in a statement issued on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the FCT Minister, Mr. Lere Olayinka.

According to the statement, the directive is part of measures aimed at strengthening security and sustaining ongoing efforts by security agencies to protect lives and property in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Olayinka said the usage of hotels, event centres and other public buildings would henceforth be closely monitored to ensure they were not used for activities capable of disrupting public peace.

He stressed that lands allocated within the FCT were meant strictly for lawful purposes.

“Going forward, title documents of any event centre, hotel or public building that is used for the gathering of illegal organisations will be revoked,” the statement said.

The FCTA advised owners and operators of such facilities to properly verify the status of groups seeking to use their premises and keep adequate records of all transactions.

The administration also urged operators, particularly during the current political season, to deal only with leaderships of political parties recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“For instance, in this political season, owners of Event Centres and Hotels in particular must ensure that they only deal with INEC-recognised leadership of political parties in respect of the use of their facilities,” Olayinka stated.

He warned that failure to comply with the directive would attract sanctions, including revocation of title documents.