The Governor of Nasarawa State, Alhaji Umaru Tanko Almakura, has signed over 1,800 Certificates of Occupancy (Cs-of-O) since assumption of office in 2011.
The issuance of the Cs of O was in line with the digital land administration policy put in place by the governor.
The Commissioner for Lands and Town Planning, Mr. Sonny Agassi, made this known yesterday in an interview with newsmen in Lafia, the state capital.
Agassi said the Nasarawa Geographic Information Services (NAGIS), a component of the Nasarawa Development Platform, has revolutionized land administration in the state, making it possible for land owners to process their land titles within 24 hours.
He said between1996 and 1999 when the military held sway, a total of 310 certificates were issued.
He said while 214 Certificates of Occupancy were issued between 1999 and 2007, 24 certificates were signed and delivered from 2007 to 2011.
He said NAGIS has supported Almakura administration’s policy thrust through the “strengthening of decision making by providing spatial information, data and services to all government ministries and agencies.”
He said the computerization of the cadastral and land registry has also “provided a platform for transparent land transactions and the optimization of workflows which has improved efficiency in land administration and improved revenue generation, thereby making it possible to project the signing of over 5000 Cs-of-O before 2019.”
While advising members of the public to take advantage of the robust land policy in the state, Agassi said land management in the state has “stimulated economic development by enabling citizens and private enterprises to register land and property and secure their investments in a transparent and safe system”
He added: “This has resulted in significant increases in revenues generated. It is important to note that these revenues are sustainable as conveying more Cs-of-O will result in increased ground rent collections”.
“As more people obtain Cs-of-O, there is increased investment in the development of new property resulting in development control charges, property taxes and tenement rates”.
The commissioner emphasized that other remarkable benefits of his administration’s land policy include the complete mapping of the entire state with 10cm ortho-photos of six urban areas and 25cm for all rural areas covering a total of 27,000 square-kilometres of digital aerial photography, the only state in the entire country to complete such mapping.
