By Teddy Nwanunobi
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr Nyesom Wike, has surpassed a 13-year-old record in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), after he signed 26,272 Certificates of Occupancy since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in May 2023.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, the figure is 17,575 higher than the 8,697 C-of-Os produced and signed between 2010 and 2023.
Olayinka stated that the achievement was in line with the Renewed Hope Administration of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, as well as to aid the ease of doing business in the FCT.
“To aid the ease of doing business in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, a total of 26,272 Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) have been signed by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, since the President assumed office.
“This is against a total of 8,697 produced and signed between 2010 and 2023. During the five and a half years administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, a total of 5,500 Certificates of Occupancy were produced and signed while 3,197 were produced and signed during the eight years administration of President Muhammadu Buhari,” the statement partly read.
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 C-of-O could serve as collateral for commercial loans, mortgages and business expansion, adding that delays in obtaining the documents could limit access to funding for small and medium-sized businesses.
The statement said the FCT Administration has streamlined the process for issuing the documents, including the introduction of an automated notification system to inform allottees when their documents are ready for collection.
“The moment necessary payments are made, land allottees can now get their C-of-O within two weeks. Also, an automated notification has been introduced to ensure that land allottees are informed when their documents are ready for collection,” Olayinka said.
He attributed delays under previous administrations to inefficiencies which, he said, discouraged 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 and facilitate business financing in the nation’s capital.