Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has issued 200 digitised Certificates of Occupancy to the first set of beneficiaries under the State Home Owners’ Charter Scheme which commenced on April 1.
The initiative is to ensure property owners obtain their Certificates of Occupancy within 60 days from the date of submission of application.
Makinde, during the symbolic handing over of the Certificates of Occupancy to seven of the beneficiaries at the Government House in Ibadan, said the initiative had eliminated the bottlenecks that characterised issuance of the document in successive administrations.
“Though there has been various unsuccessful attempts by similar initiatives under previous administrations in the state, with the new initiative by this administration, the problem associated with the processing has been solved for good in Oyo State.
“You will agree with me that anyone who has proper documentation to prove ownership and purpose of property will have peace of mind regarding that property.
“For entrepreneurs, being able to quickly obtain this legal document is important in making business decisions.
” In fact, how quickly such document can be processed can greatly influence an investor’s decision about where to situate a factory or other business premises.
“It is, therefore, government’s responsibility to ensure the right policies are put in place to make the documentation associated with home ownership quick and easy.
“This new platform has all operating equipment and facilities funded by the Oyo State Government, all data will be domiciled on state-owned servers and we will ensure the security and safety of all these documents.
“We have also installed new security features for these documents to checkmate forgery,” he said.
The governor called on those without the certificate to make use of the opportunity to get one, saying the scheme would be on till Dec. 31.
“You can buy the scratch card to obtain the application form for N6,000 and if you are among the first 2,000 applicants, you will get a 15 per cent discount for processing the C of O.
“I am pleased to extend this intervention to individuals in all the 33 Local Government Areas and 35 Local Council Development Areas of Oyo state.
“It is my hope that all will take advantage of this opportunity to regularise their home ownership documents and enjoy peace of mind; another perk that comes with legal ownership of property in the state,” he further stated
Earlier, Mr Abdu-Raheem Abiodun, the state’s Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, had described the initiative as a step in the right direction.
Abiodun said the present administration in the state had reviewed the “inherited logjams” and set up a smooth, prompt and adequate computerised method of processing the certificates and other land title documents within 60 days.
He implored all eligible land owners in the state to subscribe accordingly, saying “this initiative if well supported by all will go a long way to add immeasurable value to individual and corporate land holdings across the state.”
