The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, made a promise to eliminate syndicates that engage in providing fake Certificates of Occupancy (C of Os) to unsuspecting members of the public in the nation’s capital.
Wike shared a personal experience of how, while serving as the governor of Rivers State, he discovered that three fake C of Os were issued for his plot of land, even after he had paid N57 million.
Speaking at a meeting with estate developers in Abuja, Wike expressed his disappointment with the prevalence of fake C of Os and announced his intention to charge N5 million for acquiring a C of O.
He emphasized that there will no longer be instances where individuals are allocated plots of land with multiple fake C of Os.
Additionally, Wike revealed his plan to propose the inclusion of the National Identification Number (NIN) as a requirement for obtaining a C of O, and highlighted that since coming into office in August, he has managed to save over N110 billion.
He gave example of when as governor of Rivers State, he was given a fake C of O by some officials of the FCTA, and faulted the payment of N8.9 billion as monthly salary to FCTA, FCDA workers.
The developers unanimously on their part, pleaded with the minister to reduce the N5 million payment for C of O.
After intensive appeal by the developers, the minister said the payment could be made within four months after which the C of O could be handed over to the applicant.
He said: “I can tell you authoritatively that I have saved not less than N110 billion for FCTA since my assumption of office three months ago.
“Allocation of lands to three or more persons will no longer be allowed. C of O enables you to do business.
“When we take the right decision some people will be happy, some will not. We are ready for such fight.
“When I was governor of Rivers State, we had three C of Os from FCT. Three. It turned out that all were fake. The C of O was coming from FCTA as a government, not as an individual.
The plots allocated or said to be allocated. We paid money. When I now sent the Liaison Officer, the people from FCTA took him to the land and later, we discovered that it was fake land. Look at the money we had paid. The people disappeared. We could not find them again. Over N57 million that we paid. Why? Because that was how it was being done in the FCT. I have said that it will not work again.
“I will seek Mr President’s approval to link any C of O to NIN number, so that we know when this house falls, we will know the owner. So that when a crime is committed in a property, we will know the owner. This is what happens in developed countries. The rich men will kick against it but anything that will help our people must be done.”
“Support this move. There must be sanity in our system. You will attest to the fact that there are changes. How will you feel that at the end of the day you have a C of O but it is fake or that your land is allocated to another person”?
