‘FCT minister signed 2,493 C-of-O in 4 years’

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Muhammad Musa Bello signed 2,493 Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) between May 2015 and May 2019.

The Deputy Director, Information and Customer Service of the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS), Mohammed Sule, stated this in a rejoinder to a Daily Trust report which quoted an estate surveyor to have said the minister didn’t sign up to 500 C-of-O in four years.

Sule gave a breakdown of some of the certificates signed by the current FCT Administration under the minister to include: Agriculture – 5; Commercial – 131; Industrial – 36; Mixed Use – 45; Open Space /Green Area – 3; Public Institution – 59; and Residential 2,214, totaling 2,493.

He said, as the minister was re-appointed, the first and second batches of C-of-Os have already been processed, while other batches are undergoing vetting, production and further processes with high level of due diligence.

“It is equally important to note that the processing and issuance of Certificates of Occupancy is strictly guided by statutory provisions and Land Administration policies of the FCT,” he said.

He said the FCT Administration currently had 11,263 Certificates of Occupancy in the vaults of Land Administration that have remained uncollected by their bonafide owners.

“Some of these Certificates have spent over 10 years in our vaults. These are documents expected to be in possession of their owners to lubricate the economy with multiplier effects on the lives of the citizenry.“

He said the FCT Administration had moved a step further to call on the owners of C-of-O abandoned in its vaults through a paid advertisement for them to come forward to collect them forthwith.