Steps taken by the FCT Minister, Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike since he assumed office are aimed at not only the infrastructural development of the FCT but the economic empowerment of Nigerians.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Minister on Public Communication and New Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka stated this during a news briefing in his office on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, to shade more light on the issuance of over Five Thousand Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) to land allottees in the FCT by the Minister in the last one year.
Mr Olayinka said the action of Barr Wike in the issuance of that much backlog of C of Os was a testament to the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and would help Nigerians improve their economy.
The Media Aide said, “When you have your C of O you can do a lot of things. You can use it to borrow money to do your business and it will also encourage more people to come and pay for their C of O. The reason people are not paying before is because those who have paid have not gotten. But now you know that if you pay you can get.
“So, the economic importance of what the Minister has done is huge and that is why we want the public to know. Because to a layman, the Minister has signed. What has he signed? Having a C of O gives you access. For example, if you have a C of O of a 2000sqm land, you can invite a developer and say build this and when you finish building give me a three-bedroom flat inside there that I can be living. That is the aspect we are talking about, not just comparing what he has done with what was done before. We are talking about the economic importance of what he has done”.
He said the Minister, with his actions, is building trust, where C of Os are now issued to land allottees just two weeks after payments are made unlike what obtained previously when they have to wait for years before they can get their C of O.
On the issue of land grabbing allegations, the Media Aide said that the names of the owners of the C of Os will be published in the national dailies for all to see while SMS will also be sent out. He stressed that most people who have paid are not aware that their C of O is ready for collection, which is why, he said, the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS) will be sending automated sms to inform owners of its readiness and other sms to indicate that the document has been collected.
5,481 C of Os has been signed and issued since the FCT Minister assumed office in August 2023.
