The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has signed 5,481 Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) since he assumed office.
The Minister’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.
“From May 2023, when President Tinubu assumed office, till 31 December, 2024, a total of 5,481 Certificates of Occupancy were produced and signed by the FCT Minister,” he said.
He noted that the number of Cs-of-O signed in 2024 alone is nearly double the total processed in the preceding 13 years.
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The statement said between 2010 and 2023, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) signed a total of 8,400 Cs-of-O, an average of 646 annually.
He, however, said Mr Wike’s administration has streamlined the process to enable land allottees to receive their documents within two weeks of completing payments.
“The moment necessary payments are made, land allottees can now get their C-of-O within two weeks,” Mr Olayinka said.
He attributed the delays under previous administrations to inefficiencies that discouraged landowners from completing payments.
Breakdown
According to Mr Olayinka, the minister signed nearly as many Cs-of-O as the FCTA processed between 2010 and 2015, which totalled 5,655. Between May 2015 and May 2019, only 1,174 Cs-of-O were signed, while 1,571 were issued between May 2019 and May 2023.
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He also announced the introduction of automated notifications, ensuring land allottees are informed when their documents are ready for collection.
“Mr Wike had reportedly announced in November 2023 that FCTA will charge a flat rate of N5 million as the fee for issuance of Certificate of Occupancy (C- of-O) for all sizes of plots of land in the capital city.”
He said payment could be made within four months of land allocation after which the C-of-O would be handed over to the applicant.
Subsequently, he reduced the fee for issuance of C-of-O for plots of land in Abuja from N5 million to N3.5 million.
However, many allottees have yet to pay for their C-of-O, which the minister promised to revoke in January.
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