…FCT minister warns against land allocation to 3 or more people
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said that the FCT Administration has pegged the cost of issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy (C- of-O) at N5 million.
This was disclosed by Wike at a meeting he held with estate developers on Tuesday, November 21, 2023, in Abuja.
Wike said payment could be made within 4 months of land allocation after which the C-of-O would be handed over to the applicant.
He added that he would seek the approval of President Bola Tinubu to link applicants’ National Identification Number to C-of-Os before issuance.
No more land allocation to 3 or more people
Wike said the era where three or more persons were allocated the same plot of land with fake C-of-O was over.
The Minister said,
“Allocation of land to three or more persons will no longer be allowed because the C-of-O enables you to do business.
“When we make the right decision, some people will be happy, and some will not. The rich will kick against some of our decisions, but anything that will help our people must be done.’’
He promised to ensure orderliness and sanity in the land administration system and processes in the FCT.
N110 billion saved in 3 months
The minister expressed worries that workers’ salaries at the FCT Administration and the Federal Capital Development Authority gulped N8.9 billion monthly.
Wike said he had saved N110 billion for the FCT barely three months into office and assured that the funds would be attached to specific projects.
He inaugurated a task force on the issuance of Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) for housing estates and the recovery of land use contravention fees on Nov. 14.
He explained that the measure was to ensure that each unit in the housing estates had its separate C-of-O.
What you should know
Recall that at the inauguration of the task force on the issuance of the C of O, Wike lamented that virtually all residential areas have been turned to commercial, adding that something must be done about it.
He said that those who contravened the Land Use Act must be recertified and pay penalties.
He explained that those given approval for residential buildings have converted to commercial structures, while those given for commercial also contravene by building residential houses.
The minister said that government agencies in charge of land administration in the FCT were part of the problem, adding that the agencies were included in the task force to solve the problem they created.
