Property tax and infrastructure in Abuja

Apparently worried by this untoward reality and the unacceptably high incidence of unemployment nay dearth of infrastructural facilities in Abuja, the Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory, headed by a former national president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Senator Smart Adeyemi, decided to intervene with two bills geared towards boosting the revenue profile […]

Apparently worried by this untoward reality and the unacceptably high incidence of unemployment nay dearth of infrastructural facilities in Abuja, the Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory, headed by a former national president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Senator Smart Adeyemi, decided to intervene with two bills geared towards boosting the revenue profile of the city, as well as restructuring the administration of the FCT.
The bills, FCT Board of Inland Revenue Service Bill and FCT Property Tax Law Bill, which were sponsored by Senator Adeyemi, received the overwhelming support of majority of his colleagues, a development that led to the recent passage of the bill of property tax. That the bill enjoyed the overwhelming support of the senators is a clear indication of its desirability.
When the bill becomes operational, it will ensure that privileged Nigerians with properties in Abuja are made to contribute to the overall development of Nigeria through payment of property tax. In addition, it will enhance the standard of living of the poor as a way of addressing the unacceptable high rate of unemployment ravaging the Nigerian economy, while part of the proceeds would be used to pay contractors constructing roads in Abuja.
Based on the peculiarity of our environment, the following categories of properties are exempted from paying the tax. They include properties owned and occupied by a religious bodies and used exclusively for religious or congregational worship, religious education or similar purpose; real property owned by any person and used as a non-profit making cemetery or burying ground.
Senate President David Alechenu Mark, while appreciating the imperativeness of the bill, declared that apart from expanding the revenue base of the FCT, it will also lead to increased pace of provision of basic infrastructure and amenities to the residents of the territory.
Apparently basking in the huge potentials embedded in the bill, an elated FCT minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, disclosed that the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) would earn about N500 billion annually as revenue receivable from the proposed property tax bill when it becomes operational.
According to him, “City-states like Berlin, Vienna and even Lagos, Nigeria’s former capital city, have decentralised revenue collection.’’
Interestingly, a lot of Abuja residents have hailed the passage of the property tax, which they averred will generate adequate funds that will significantly address critical infrastructural challenges confronting the city.
While residents of the FCT are waiting expectantly for when this all-important bill will become operational, expectations are rife that the days of dearth of infrastructural facilities in the nation’s capital city are numbered.
Rogers Edor Ochela, former editor of Abuja Today and Peoples Power Newspapers, is based in Abuja.