From Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum has signed at least 775 Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) for landowners in the state in the last two years, an official revealed.
Executive Secretary, Borno Geographic Information Service (BOGIS), Adam Bababe told journalists at a press briefing in Maiduguri, weekend, the 775 C of O signed by the governor between year 2020 and now, was the biggest volume ever approved and issued in 20 years.
“BOGIS was established three years ago. In 2021 we had about 414 and this year we already have over 300 signed a lot is in the pipeline to be signed before the end of the year,” Babe reveals.
He said only 1,722 C of O were signed and issued for a period of 20 years (1999 to 2019) until Gov Zulum established the service to smoothen land administration in the state
He revealed 61 C of O were signed in 2020, the year BOGIS started full operations. He assured BOGIS is working hard to ensure it hit the target of over 1000 signed certificate of occupancy before the end of the year.
He said the certificates are counterfeit proof, based on Geographic Information Service, digitalised and ‘can be geo-referenced.”
Aside these, Bababe also revealed the agency already completed the digitalization of process of all existing land files. He said it is now in the process of linking the files to what was physically on ground.
He advised the people against converting landed property approved for a certain purpose into another use without seeking the approval of the agency.
“For instance, if you want to convert a residential area to commercial you have to apply there is a fee for that,” he explained.
Certificate of Occupancy is generally a legal document issued by the governments in Nigeria to land owners or property buyers as legitimate proof of their ownership.