The Kwara State Geographic Information Service, KW-GIS says that it is projecting N1.7 billion as revenue to be generated into the state coffers from the agency in 2023.
The acting Executive Chairman of the agency, Abdulmutalib Shittu, who made this known at a media briefing in Ilorin, said the service was partnering the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting for security of documents emanating from the service.
According to him, the agency realised over N900 million in revenue for the state in 2022, thus surpassing the attainments of the previous administrations
He stated that the services of the agency were being automated for quality service delivery and to avoid unnecessary delay in the issuance of relevant documents in land administration.
Shittu, who noted that the agency understudied some states for improved service delivery, said that it resolved to apply what would be in the best interest of the people of the state.
He assured that certificates of occupancy would henceforth be issued within 30 working days while 15 working days were earmarked for issuance of building permits subject to submission of requisite documents to the service.
He says, “We stabilised the function of the service to a certain level. We started harmonizing all of it in terms of staff, because they all worked in separate agencies. The excesses that we had, we have to move them back to their parent ministry. And then we thought of how do we achieve the vision of modern land administration agency. We said let’s get the people that know what the job is. We went to Kaduna, Nasarawa and Abuja meeting the good, the bad and the ugly.”
According to him, after understanding the various states, they then designed what will work for Kwara State learning from the good and bad things that had been happening .
He stated that the agency partnered with the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting and to secure their documents, they partnered with them so that they will have a brand new digitalized Certificate of Ownership, a brand new digitalised building climate to make sure that documents coming out of the service are secured and verified with the security features that are put on them.
Shittu further that the agency did a lot to make sure that the staff that are working are happy doing the job in terms of training, professional development and celebration of life.
He stated that last year, it generated close to N1billion, stating that in the agency, it is the highest of this administration and that it now has a brand new layout being allocated.
“We have made sure that income continues to grow while we transit gradually. In the mounting of projects that are to come, KW-GIS is set up to bring the service closer to the people and to make it more efficient. You do that by automation. So, what we are trying to do is reduce the time for processing of C of O to 30 working days. We would be eliminating concept of R of O in the process. What we will be doing is going straight from application to C of O. We are trying to make sure that the target is from application with all documents. It is when you submit all your documents that we will start counting 30 days. And the goal for building permit is to get that in 15 working days. All of those submissions would be done electronically,” he said.
He announced that the agency would be bringing Kwara State Geographic Information Service centres or offices to Kwara South and Kwara North while it is looking forward to having three more functional offices that would become zonal offices for those respected areas so that they don’t have to come to Ilorin all the time to get their things done.
The acting Executive Chairman dismissed as a figment of imagination on an online report that he was grilled at the Ilorin zonal command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Confidence Okwuchi
