The Enugu State governor, Peter Mbah, has taken a giant step aimed at ending land grabbing, double allocation, and revenue diversion in the state. The governor, at a moderate event in Enugu, the state capital, inaugurated the Enugu State Geographic Information System (ENGIS) for this purpose.
The ENGIS, which the governor described as a major win for the state, is also aimed to sanitise and modernise land administration and management in the state.
Mbah had, in March this year, signed into law the ENGIS Service Bill initiated by his government and passed by the Enugu State House of Assembly (ENSHA).
He stressed that ENGIS was in line with his administration’s campaign promise to automate the governance process, starting with simplification and sanitisation of land administration and management in the state.
Inaugurating the ENGIS office, Mbah said, “This is not just a win for the government. It is also a win for Ndi Enugu as well because nothing is as important as trusting the integrity of a process.
Today marks the end of the era of land grabbing, unauthorised construction, double allocations, and revenue diversion.”
The governor explained that the milestone was also in furtherance of his campaign promise to grow the state’s economy to $30 billion and make it conducive for business, noting that whereas ENGIS could process an application for title in a few hours, a duration of 48 hours was stipulated to provide a buffer for other control elements built into the process.
Read also: Mbah signs four bills into law to check land grabbing menace, open grazing
“We had, during our campaign period, mentioned that we were going to invest hugely in the digital sector and that we were going to ensure that we make Enugu State the number one in terms of Ease of Doing Business.
If you look at the major indicators of the Ease of Doing Business, you will notice two items there: the ease of obtaining your title and the ease of obtaining a construction permit. These are the core indicators.
“So, what we are launching today would enable us to accomplish our economic growth target because, with the ENGIS, you are able to start and complete your application for title within 48 hours. From the comfort of your home, you can apply for titles, conduct your searches, and you get the results almost immediately,” he said.
The governor hopes that ENGIS is also going to create transparency in land management and administration, meaning that the era of opacity in our land transactions is also gone because one can now view everything.
He believes that the system is going to motivate investors a lot and will bring the state closer to its dream of growing its economy from $4.4bn to $30bn in four to eight years.
“We know that we can achieve that because the value of real estate in our state is rising. You can see people trooping in.
“So, with ENGIS we are ready for business and we are open for business because we are now able to treat the title applications expeditiously,” he said.
Mbah also congratulated his team which, he said, worked extremely hard to achieve the feat in a very short time, converting to digital platforms land documents dating back to early colonial days when the entire Southern Nigeria, except Lagos, was at some point administered from Enugu.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Lands and Urban Development, Chimaobi Okorie and the Coordinator of ENGIS, Cyril Ezeama, explained that the ENGIS would boost the revenue profile of the state and create an advanced geospatial centre of excellence for land administration and data management.
“With this system, we will enable the transparent, accurate, and efficient registration of land titles, provide reliable geospatial information and ensure sustainable geospatial management for the state.
“The project is not only designed to eliminate revenue leakages but also projected to significantly enhance revenue generation, contributing an estimated N300 billion annually to the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state,” Ezema said.
He noted that ENGIS is the first of its kind in Nigeria because, with this system, land applications and searches can now be initiated and completed entirely online seamlessly, conveniently, and without the need for physical visits.
The Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Uchenna Ugwu; Chairman of the Enugu State Traditional Rulers Council, Igwe Samuel Asadu; Council Chairman of Enugu North LGA, Ibenaku Onoh; Chairman of Enugu Branch of Nigeria Bar Association, Venatus Odoh; his Nigeria Institution of Surveyors counterpart, E.C Nnamani; Chairman, Institute of Town Planners, Enugu State, Charles Ngene; and Chairman, Enugu State House of Assembly Committee on Lands, Pius Ezeugwu, commended the governor for the digital transformation of governance in the state, pledging full support for his development agenda for the state.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
