Zika Bobby
Poised to continue with the ease of land documentation process in Lagos, especially in the face of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), the state government said it has put in place measures that would ensure a continued flow of its land title documentation.
Speaking at a webinar organised by the law office of DF LEGAL , a firm of legal practitioners, themed: “Covid 19 Disruption and Land Title Administration in Lagos State: Preserving the Business of Real Estate”, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Lands Bureau, Olabode Agoro, said the Bureau has set up a drop box facility, which is administered at the collection centre of the Lands Registry.
Explaining the mode of operation, Agoro said all transactions, including application for Governor’s Consent, would now be operated using the drop box facility system by placing the application and supporting documents inside an envelope with the name of the applicant written on it. The applicant is also required to write a phone number (WhatsApp enabled) and an email address on the envelope.
Agoro listed services undertaken by the Bureau to include the application for Governor’s Consent, processing of all documentation regarding land titles and administering all lands in Lagos on behalf of the governor of Lagos State.
The Permanent Secretary also assured the public that the ongoing digitisation process, which is aimed at automating all processes in the lands registry, should be concluded by the end of next year.
He said this would culminate in the launch of the e-portal for hosting all kinds of transaction carried out in the Registry. In a similar vein, the Director of Land Services, Mrs Joy Awe, explained that in applying for Governor’s Consent, an applicant is expected to submit a Form 1C, three deeds with chartable survey (where the land is a private land), a means of identification, a cover letter with easily accessible phone numbers, site photographs containing the date and time the photograph was taken and a site location sketch. She, however , said where it is a government land, the chartable survey may be dispensed with. The applicant is also expected to attach four passport photographs: one on the Form 1C and on each of the three deeds.
Where the applicant is a Corporate body, it is expected to include its Certificate of Incorporation.
Other issues addressed at the webinar were Retrospective Registration, commonly known as Double Consent and the process for applying for Double consent.
An application for Double consent is expected to contain five deeds (two of the assignor’s unregistered deed and three of the assignee’s deed) and an indemnity letter in addition to the documents required for an application for consent. A site inspection and an interview of occupants of the land will also be conducted.
The Deputy Registrar of Titles, Adebisi Adeniji, noted that once an application for consent is received from the Directorate of Land Services, before the Directorate of Lands Registry can proceed to act on the registration, request is made for the “Roots of Title” for sighting before the Registry can proceed with the registration of the title. He appealed to applicants to be proactive by making the originals of their Roots of Title available once they receive a letter from the Directorate of Lands Services intimating them that their file has been moved to the Directorate of Land Registry.
The Managing Partner, DF Legal, Mrs. Abiola Ogundare, said the webinar was curated to examine the effect of the Covid-19 disruption on the activities of the Lagos State Lands Bureau and how the public can interface with the Bureau in view of its skeletal services now being rendered by government establishments and other business.
Ogundare called on the state government to speed up digitisation to ensure a seamless process, moving forward.