The Federal Capital Territory Administration has issued and signed 26,272 Certificates of Occupancy since the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has said.
Wike said the development was part of efforts to improve the ease of doing business and facilitate access to property documentation in the Federal Capital Territory.
He disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka.
The figure represents a significant increase compared with the 8,697 Certificates of Occupancy produced and signed between 2010 and 2023.
Under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, 5,500 Certificates of Occupancy were produced and signed during his five-and-a-half-year tenure, while 3,197 were issued during the eight-year administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The statement said many beneficiaries of the Certificates of Occupancy issued under the present FCT administration had received their land allocations more than 10 years ago.
It noted that Certificates of Occupancy were important property documents that could facilitate access to commercial loans, mortgages and funds for business expansion.
According to the statement, delays in obtaining the documents had previously affected property owners and small and medium-sized businesses seeking access to finance.
It said the FCT Administration had streamlined the process, allowing land allottees to obtain their Certificates of Occupancy within two weeks of completing the required payments.
“The moment necessary payments are made, land allottees can now get their C-of-O within two weeks,” Olayinka said.
He added that an automated notification system had also been introduced to inform land allottees when their documents were ready for collection.
Olayinka attributed previous delays to inefficiencies which, he said, discouraged some landowners from completing their payments.
The statement further disclosed that the FCT Administration had granted 2,521 Consents to Assign and 177 Consents to Mortgage during the last three years of the Tinubu administration.
This compares with 753 Consents to Assign and 180 Consents to Mortgage granted under the Jonathan administration and 684 Consents to Assign and 164 Consents to Mortgage under Buhari.
A consent to assign is the legal approval required for the transfer of an interest in a property, while a consent to mortgage is required before a property can be used as collateral for a loan.
