The Kaduna State government on Thursday, commenced the official issuance of Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) to land owners who have registered their lands with the Kaduna Geographic Information Service (KADGIS).
The Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Architect Bala Bantex who made the presentation of the document to the first set of beneficiaries recalled that in the past, it takes a longer period of time and huge sum of money to obtain land document such as C of O; noting that the process had been made easy under the new arrangement by the State Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
This development, he said has helped the poor to get certificate for their lands as well as raised the value of their land.
He therefore, advised all land owners in the State to endeavor to obtain C of O of their lands; noting that with such document, the value of their lands will increase while it could also be used as collateral to access loans in financial institutions.
In his remark, the Director General of KADGIS, Alhaji Ibrahim Hussaini said, “In the last 100 years in Kaduna State, we have been issuing manual certificates which were subject to many abuses including fraudulent activities but the coming of Governor El-Rufai has led to the appointment of contractors and consultants, GIS Transport which saw the staff of KADGIS through the verifying of land processes in the State.
“We also have the recertification of old certificates programme which also takes 30days. All settlements around Kaduna who do not have any form of certification either by State or Local Government are being registered and given certificate at the rate of N5,000.
“By the end of June this year, we should have 350 computer seats being operated by Kaduna state staff,” he assured.
Also, the Project Manager of KADGIS, Peter Ritchie assured that by the end of 2017, all lands in the State should be titled.