Edo in talks with developers, to check illegal land acquisition, quackery

The Edo State Government has held talks with private estate developers and other key players on ways to sanitise the property market and ensure operators adopt international best practices.

Commissioner for Physical Planning, Urban and Regional Development, Isoken Omo, disclosed this during a meeting with stakeholders in the built environment at the John Oyegun Public Service Academy in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

She said the meeting was called to engage the developers and ensure they operate within the ambit of the law. She said it was expedient to ensure that all estate projects are approved and in line with the state’s master plan.

According to her, “We want to ensure that all stakeholders in the state are aware of government plans towards actualising the Edo Regional Development Plan and Benin City Masterplan.”

The commissioner said: “So far, over 20,000 properties have been visited. We have records of 81,000 residents in six communities in Oredo and parts of Ikpoba-Okha through Operation Plan Edo (OPE), which is being coordinated by several critical Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government within the ecosystem.

“As investors, get qualified architects, engineers, surveyors and registered builders while working on your estate development. Do not patronise quacks.”

On his part, Managing Director, Edo-Geographic Information System (Edo-GIS), Frank Evbomwan, said the process for securing a Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) has been made seamless, as all encumbrances have been removed.

“The process is now easy. However, the basic thing is to have a very good title and you must satisfy all legal requirements. Incomplete submission of documents, litigation and encroachment into government acquisition could also affect the processes,” he noted.

The MD also advised estate developers to ensure that they verify the status of property they intend to acquire from Edo-GIS and ensure developments do not fall under the redesigned areas within the master plan.

Responding on behalf of the estate developers, Chairman, Real Estate Developers of Nigeria, Edo State Chapter, Mr Chris Ebea, commended the state government for the timely engagement with developers and stated that the association is taking steps to reduce quackery in the system.