The Nigerian government says it will solve problems with foreign embassies that haven’t paid their ground rent through normal diplomatic discussions.
On Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, told The Punch that the ministry would work with the Federal Capital Territory Administration to handle the situation properly.
“The ministry will take up the matter with FCTA and it will be addressed via diplomatic channels,” Ebienfa said.
What led to this problem
This promise came after news reports said the FCTA might take strong action against 34 embassies. The action could include sealing up the embassy buildings because they haven’t paid ground rent since 2014.
According to an official notice from the FCTA, these embassies together owe more than N3.6 billion in unpaid ground rent.
Earlier, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike had ordered enforcement action against nearly 4,800 properties because the owners hadn’t paid for a long time. However, President Bola Tinubu stepped in and gave all affected people and organisations two weeks to pay their debts.
Besides paying what they owe, defaulting entities must also pay penalty fees between N2 million and N3 million, depending on where their property is located. This information comes from the FCTA’s Director of Land, Chijioke Nwankwoeze.
Which embassies owe money
The embassies that owe money include the Ghana High Commission Defence Section (N5,950); Embassy of Thailand (N5,350), Embassy of Côte d’Ivoire (N5,500); Embassy of the Russian Federation (N1,100); Embassy of the Philippines (N5,950); Royal Netherlands Embassy (N5,950); Embassy of Turkey (N3,350), and the Embassy of the Republic of Guinea (N5,950).
The list also includes the embassies of Ireland (N500), Uganda (N5,950), Iraq (N550), and the Zambian High Commission, which owes N1,189,990.
Other missions on the list are the Tanzania High Commission (N6,000), German Embassy (N1,000), Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo (N5,950), Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (N459,055), Embassy of the Republic of Korea (N5,950), and the High Commission of Trinidad and Tobago (N500).
Additionally, several more embassies appear on the list: Embassy of Egypt (N5,950), Embassy of Chad (N5,950), Sierra Leone Commission (N5,900), High Commission of India (N150), Embassy of Sudan (N5,950), Embassy of Niger Republic (N500), and Kenya High Commission (N5,950).
The remaining embassies include Zimbabwe (N500), Ethiopia (N5,950), and Indonesia (Defence Attaché), which owes N1,718,211.
Finally, the list includes the Delegation of the European Union (N1,500), the Embassy of Switzerland (N5,950), the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia (N5,950), China’s Economic and Commercial Counselor’s Office (N12,000), South African High Commission (N4,950), and the Government of Equatorial Guinea (N1,137,240).
Embassies say the list is wrong
Many of the embassies mentioned have said they disagree with being put on this list. They claim the information is wrong or hasn’t been properly checked.
For example, the Russian Embassy said it doesn’t owe any rent money. The Embassy of Turkey thinks there might have been a mistake in the paperwork that caused them to be listed.
Similarly, the German Embassy said it never received any official letter asking for unpaid rent.
Meanwhile, the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo made a public statement saying that all outstanding land rates had been fully settled and that normal operations continue without interruption.
The Ghana High Commission said it saw the published list but hadn’t been officially told about the debt. They said they would work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to sort out the issue.
