Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Oyo State government has launched a digital Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) issuance platform, in line with plans to increase revenue in the state.
This was disclosed by the Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mr Abiodun Abdu-Raheem, in a statement released over the weekend.
He noted that with this new digital initiative, the processing and collection of Certificate of Occupancy in the state is now faster, easier and affordable.
He also called on all eligible property owners without title or approved documents to take advantage of the opportunity.
He also revealed that Oyo State Government will ensure all land owners in the state have digital title documents by December 2022, with the accelerated provision of digitized title documents.
Mr Abdu-Raheem said, “The processing and collection of Certificate of Occupancy would take only Sixty (60) days under the Oyo State Home Owners Charter (OYHOC) scheme. While Government will bear the cost of survey, planning permission and all other relevant documents for applicants who do not have them under the OYHOC scheme.
“Records have shown that majority of residential landed properties in Oyo State have no registered titled documents leaving such property owners open to many risks, hence the need for the C of O.”
According to the Commissioner, all C-of-Os issued under the improved OYHOC will not only be digital, for ease of authenticity confirmation, they would also be the same legal instrument as any other C of O being issued by the government.
“Property owners can now easily use their properties as collateral for any financial transaction as well as having their documentation on the digital database of the Ministry for ease of confirmation and transfer,” he said.
The commissioner further explained that application forms can be obtained at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development at the State secretariat, all Local Government Authority Offices as well as Local Council Development Authority offices (LGA &LCDAs) for only N6,000 payable using customized OYHOC recharge cards.
He also said all applicants must immediately register their application by following the instructions on the recharge card as the unique PIN on the recharge card will serve as their application number and as receipt for the application form payment.
To spur the process, he stated that the first 2,000 applicants will enjoy a 15 percent discount, hinted that it was very important for all applicants to immediately register their application with the OYHOC recharge cards following the instructions carefully.
He, however, noted that the concessionary processing fee applicable for the OYHOC scheme C-of-O is only available for applications received between now and 31st December, 2020.
The Oyo State government has directed applicants to visit the website www.lands.oyostate.gov.ng while enquiries can be made through Room 4, Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, State Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan. Tel: 0700 696 52637 (0700 OYO LANDS) and email: [email protected]
