As part of effort to clear backlogs of Certificates of Occupancy ( C of O) inherited from the Homeowners Charter scheme created by the immediate past government of Ibikunle Amosun, the Ogun State Government is now devising means to produce, sign and distribute 1,000 C of O daily.
Some investors, who are operating in the State, including Tropical General Investments (TGI) Group, have accused Ogun State Bureau of Lands and Survey of complicity in land allocations and issuance of Certificates of Occupancy, prompting Governor Dapo Abiodun to assure investors, manufacturers and residents of the State of his government’s effort to rid the agency of government of bad eggs.
Speaking at the breakfast meeting with chief executive officers held recently, Governor Dapo Abiodun declared that lots of restructuring had taken place in the State Bureau of Lands and Survey as the State Government had devised a technology “that will fast track the issuance of an open-page C of O, produce and sign 1,000 C of O daily.”
Meanwhile, the Ogun State Government has distributed Certificates of Occupancy to 5,000 beneficiaries in the State, promising that it would continue to make land available to genuine investors who are ready to do business in the State.
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Governor Dapo Abiodun, who was represented at the presentation of C of O to beneficiaries held in Abeokuta by Tokunbo Talabi, Secretary to the State Government, said in keeping with the plans of the present Administration to make the State the investors’ hub not only in Nigeria, but the West African sub-region, the process of acquiring land in the State had been automated to speed up the process.
He noted that it is no longer business as usual, as the Lands Department has been transformed to perform optimally, saying the distribution of 5000 C of O was a signpost that transparency is now the order of the day in the administration of land in the state.
The governor, who attributed the non performance of the Lands Department in the past to ‘cabals’ said the office is now operating on a clean slate as the former staff have been moved to make room for higher performance.
He sympathized with those who went through severe ordeal in accessing their land documents, saying with the documents, it would bring peace of mind and signifies that the land has been allocated to them.
Earlier, Segun Fowora, Director General, Bureau of Lands and Survey, noted that land plays important part in human activities as no activity could take place with land.
He said the introduction of the Ogun State Land Administration and Revenue Management System (OLAMS), by the Governor Abiodun-led administration was to speed the process of land administration and make it seamless, maintaining that the Bureau of Lands would continue to implement the governor’s vision on land matters.
