Redefining land administration in Lagos State

Sir: The attendant issues and problems associated with land acquisition and ownership including land registration, obtaining title documents for landed property such as certificate of occupancy and the likes is fast becoming a thing of the past in Lagos as the State’s Lands Bureau is now better reposition and to manage land resources in the state.

The state is currently upgrading and redesigning the layout and business process within the Land Registry, in order to maintain the highest level of security and integrity of the title documents. Also with the introduction of the Electronic Documentation and Survey Plans System (EDMS), which scans and archives Land Documents and Survey Plans into a searchable and interlinked data, land registration becomes smoother and more efficient.

To further enhance the system, Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode who is passionate about prompt and efficient service delivery, wants obtaining of Certificates of Occupancy to be with ease and as such has signed cumulatively, since inception of his administration, a total of 4,445 Electronic Certificate of Occupancy. The state is fully implementing the “Lagos State Land Registration Law 2015” for instance, in line with the provisions of the extant law with respect to the loss or destruction of Certificate of Occupancy.

Similarly, on the 15th of August 2016, the state signed into law the “Lagos State Property Protection Law,” followed by the creation of the Special Task Force with the aim of putting a stop to the nefarious activities of land grabbers (Omo onile) who have made life impossible for land owners and prospective land owners.

In response to the demands of a 21st Century Mega City like Lagos, the state government in line with its determination and commitment to efficient land administration and management and the drive to rapid urbanisation, has put in place these effective and dynamic reforms to reposition land resources for the benefit of Lagosians. Therefore, land registration in the state stands and ranks the best in the country.

Similarly, the Lands Bureau, being the second highest revenue earner in the state with a gross earnings of N2O, 773,862,768.47 (Twenty billon, seven hundred and seventy-three million, eight hundred sixty two thousand, seven hundred and sixty eight naira, forty-seven kobo) in the year 2016 with the revenue performance for the year exceeding the Bureau’s budget for the period by 45 per cent due to transaction on the sales of land for industrial development, it becomes even more expedient that concrete steps be taken towards the efficient and sustainable land management and administration.

Temilade Aruya, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Lagos.