The Oyo State Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Akin-Funmilayo, has stated that the Ministry is strengthening its processes to ensure that all builders in the state comply with regulations aimed at curbing building collapses.
He, therefore, urged developers to seek proper approval and guidance from the Ministry before embarking on construction projects to prevent avoidable disasters.
“We will protect lives and property in the state by ensuring that homeowners and contractors comply with the building regulations. We don’t want to lose any life to building collapse. We also don’t want our people to lose their property. So, as a government, we will do what is required to stamp out building collapse in the state,” Akin-Funmilayo said.
The commissioner, who was accompanied by senior officials from the Ministry, made this known on Thursday while addressing journalists at the afternoon session of the Omituntun 2.0 Inter-Ministerial Briefing.
He disclosed that about 15 Government Reserved Areas (GRAs) had been established through a public-private partnership model. He also highlighted several initiatives introduced by the Ministry, including electronic allocation letters, an online allocation and plot selection system via the Ministry’s website www.lands.oyostate.gov.ng, an amnesty programme for building permits, and the deployment of an online building permit platform.
Looking ahead, Akin-Funmilayo said the Ministry would focus on house numbering in the coming months.
House numbering is one of the promises we made. Also, we’re pursuing the digitalisation and archiving of all documents in the Ministry. One of our major goals is to grant partial independence to the Physical Planning Department, allowing it to become a fully-fledged unit or division. We’ve already begun the administrative processes, and we expect significant progress before the year ends,” he said.
He credited Governor Seyi Makinde’s visionary leadership for the state’s increased Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), noting that the digitisation of land allocation and title documentation, alongside the creation of new GRAs, contributed significantly to revenue growth.
The commissioner revealed that the Ministry had issued 17,046 digital title documents since the inception of the Makinde administration. It also deployed the Oyo State Property Reference System to enhance property identification and land-based tax payments, helping expand the state’s tax net and improve revenue annually.
According to him, the Ministry generated N4.8 billion in 2023 and N6.1 billion in 2024. As of May 15, 2025, the Ministry had already generated N3.2 billion.
He listed GRAs under development as the Engr. Lere Adigun GRA (completed), Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja GRA, Senator Isiaka Abiola Ajimobi GRA, Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala GRA, Chief Lateef Oyelade GRA, Signature Estate, Woodland Estate, Chief Michael Adeniyi Koleosho GRA, Baywood Gardens, Hon. Akinremi Jagaban GRA, Kolapo Ishola Land Phase II Extension (Akobo), Mokola Hill Top GRA, Tonabim Estate, Oyo GRA, and Ogbomoso GRA.
“Some GRAs are not yet on the market. The ones at Alalubosa, Aerodrome, and Agodi Gardens will be sold soon,” he said.
He added: “From January to May 2024, we generated N2.7 billion. In the same period in 2025, we generated N3.2 billion—an increase of about N500 million. To achieve this, we thoroughly appraised our systems and made necessary corrections.
Since 2019, we’ve issued over 17,000 title documents. Nearly 8,000 of these were issued in the past two years alone, with 4,570 issued in 2024—the highest since 2019. In May 2025 alone, we issued 1,008. We expect to reach about 5,000 by the end of the year.”
He also disclosed that the Ministry had introduced innovations such as digitising property cards and files in the Deeds Registry to preserve historical data. It also provided Real Time Kinematic (RTK) digital surveying equipment to support the work of surveyors.
Other milestones include the enactment of a new Land Use Charge Law, the recruitment of 77 new staff to improve service delivery, and the payment of N935,846,000 in compensation to property owners affected by key infrastructure projects.
These projects include: Senator Rashidi Ladoja Circular Road (East Wing): N260,000,000, Ajia Junction Improvement Interchange: N139,000,000, Right of way/weighbridge on Ogbomoso/Iseyin Road: N23,846,000, Air Force Base, Ajia: N513,000,000.
Responding to questions from journalists, Akin-Funmilayo acknowledged that infrastructure development in GRAs had increased land prices.
However, he assured that the Makinde administration remains committed to delivering affordable housing options for middle- and low-income earners before the end of its tenure.
