Matters arising on FCT land matters

And keeping true to his words, the minister is on the right path. His determination no doubt has begun to manifest. The long list of problems ranging from multiple plot allocation, land racketeering with the connivance of some staff of the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS), inequitable distribution of land to all Nigerians and ineffectiveness […]

And keeping true to his words, the minister is on the right path. His determination no doubt has begun to manifest. The long list of problems ranging from multiple plot allocation, land racketeering with the connivance of some staff of the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS), inequitable distribution of land to all Nigerians and ineffectiveness of AGIS to provide services is fast being depleted.
The FCT minister has ensured that the knotty issue of securing alternative plots of land for allottees of double or multiple allocations which have lingered for over 10 years is finally put to rest as approval has been made for 668 plots in the first batch out of 991 of such cases. People affected have begun collecting alternative plots while the second and last batch of allottees is expected to commence collection within the next two weeks.
On the day he assumed office, the Minister did not mince words when he stated that “the land administration in the Federal capital Territory has been under a lot of criticism so what can we do to provide land to all sets of people, to all categories of Nigerians, from the high to the low, from the public service to the private sector, from the commercial to residential, given our meagre resources. How do we open new areas, how do we even develop those areas that are classified as residential areas and then allocations are given for years and there is no development in place. What do we do? We have a snag.”
Other major challenges the FCT Minister faced in terms of land administration included the urgent need to restructure and recruit manpower for the AGIS and the Department of Land administration, introduction of foolproof accounting system for AGIS, disengagement of Julius Berger after the completion of the computerization contract and training and transfer of technology to staff of AGIS, resolution of pending cases of revocation due to overriding public interest and other reasons that are not as a result of the fault of the allottees and commencement of processing of title documents submitted for recertification by allottees of plots in the Area Councils by AGIS.
Presently, all operations hitherto done by Julius Berger have been taken over by trained staff of AGIS while Julius Berger’s consultancy role is restricted to support. Also, the draft system of payment on land will soon be replaced with the online payment system which is presently being tested, just as the latest satellite imagery under AGIS 2 project in order to update satellite imagery has been procured and the processing of raw data is presently going on.
To really show that things are no longer the same in the Abuja Geographic Information System, a total number of 734 Certificates of Occupancy for the sale of Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Houses and 142 for Rights of Occupancy within the Federal Capital City had been printed, while a total number of 346 Title Deed Plans (TDPs) had been created for the sale of Federal Government Houses and 186 for the regular plots.
Acknowledging the urgent need to open up satellite towns so that people can access their plots and develop them, Senator Mohammed has ensured that contract for the rehabilitation of two bridges and drainage on Dangara – Ashafa Road; improvement of power supply to the Owner-Occupier Estate, Phase 11, Kubwa: construction of drainage structures and training of river boundaries at Karu and Jikwoyi: provision of water through boreholes and solar pumps: detailed engineering design of Yaba-Kapache Road and construction of Karshi-Ara Road have been awarded.
It is under the leadership of the present minister that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the reinstatement of diplomatic plots to embassies during which he noted that “it is not proper to equate the ownership status of the embassies with those of individuals who refused to develop them within the specified time limits and as foreign countries, they are at liberty to develop according to their conveniences and that any action to stop them will be reciprocated as Nigeria also has undeveloped plots of land in many countries where it has embassies”.
While emphasizing that the importance of land and land administration in the Federal Capital Territory cannot be overstressed because it is the seat of the Federal Government and home to many diplomatic missions, the FCT Minister who has persistently assured that his administration will do everything possible to protect the integrity of land titles in the FCT, has already started allocating land as alternative plots to the over 6,000 allottees who lost their land titles as a result of government actions.
Lohor is Media Assistant to Minister of the FCT