On annual basis, the Federal Capital Territory losses about N600 billion in terms of funds that must have accrued to it from the property sector, the Ad-hoc Committee on the investigation of operations of real estate designers has actually revealed.

The Adhoc Committee’s chairman Blessing Onyeche Onuh’s position was proven by the FCT Minister, Musa Bello who has threatened to sanitise the sector in due course.

Onuh made the discovery at a two-day workshop arranged by the House of Representative Investigate Ad-hoc Committee on Mass Housing/ Real Estate Development in the FCT, which was held at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja on Monday in Abuja.

She described that the workshop is to x-ray the economy of the property industry, keeping in mind that, “we will plainly articulate the value chain in this multi-trillion naira market and determine why the FCT has actually not been getting its reasonable share.

According to her, “This committee’s preliminary findings showed that the FCT has actually been losing an approximated N600 billion annually in profits accruable to it from the property sector.

“Take for example a home or land is sold for N500,000,000.00 (five hundred million naira), the legal representative gets his legal cost, the agent gets his brokerage cost, the bank gets its deal charges and the federal government gets nothing if the deal is not provided for registration.

“And this sort of transactions go on in volumes every day uncontrolled, leaving the government with the seasonal battles of satisfying up its responsibility of providing contemporary facilities for its people. A number of these transactions are carried out in money making the industry a safe haven for money laundering and illicit financial circulations. The time to change the narratives is now”, she stated.

She reminded the FCT Minister of his constitutional powers to impose the arrangements of the law establishing the federal capital area, insisting that such powers when enforced would go a long way in helping Nigerians, regardless of where they live.

“Her words, “We as lawmakers and representatives of the Nigerian individuals will never ever relent in providing you the needed assistance to carry out your constitutional duties. Posterity shall hold us all to judgement if all of us abuse this trust either by our actions or inactiveness”.