FCT records 26,272 C-of-Os, up 17,575 from 2010 – 2023

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) says 26,272 Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-Os) have been signed by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office in May 2023.

The figure represents an increase of 17,575 over the 8,697 Certificates of Occupancy produced and signed between 2010 and 2023, according to the FCTA.

This was disclosed in a statement issued to the newsmen by the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka.

Olayinka said the development was part of efforts by the FCT Administration to support President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and improve the ease of doing business in the nation’s capital.

Read Also:

Mariya Bunkure empowers 44 APC women leaders with N100,000, attire each

Garo: More Kano youths will benefit from residential plot scheme

Abdulaziz Ganduje returns to APC, shakes up Kano 2027 politics

He said 5,500 Certificates of Occupancy were produced and signed during the five-and-a-half-year administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, while 3,197 were produced and signed during the eight-year administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to Olayinka, many beneficiaries of the 26,272 C-of-Os signed under Wike received their land allocations more than 10 years ago.

He explained that a Certificate of Occupancy could serve as collateral for commercial loans, mortgages and business expansion, noting that delays in obtaining the documents could limit access to funding, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses.

The FCT Administration, he said, had streamlined the process for issuing the documents, including the introduction of an automated notification system to inform allottees when their C-of-Os were ready for collection.

“The moment necessary payments are made, land allottees can now get their C-of-O within two weeks,” Olayinka said.

He attributed delays under previous administrations to inefficiencies which, according to him, 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 first three years of the Tinubu administration.

This compares with 753 Consents to Assign and 180 Consents to Mortgage granted during the Jonathan administration, and 684 Consents to Assign and 164 Consents to Mortgage under Buhari.

A Consent to Assign is 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.

The FCT Administration said the measures were part of efforts to improve access to property documentation, reduce delays and facilitate business financing in the nation’s capital.