Gov Bellos Land Reforms would Enhance the Economic Well being of Residents..Odoma »

The immediate past Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Governor Yahaya Bello on Lands and Housing Services is no doubt a man that knows his onions. This was the conclusion of Mohammed Yabagi, who sat down with Hon Odoma to discuss how the Governor has been silently empowering Kogi citizens through critical reforms in the sector. It makes for interesting read. Excerpts:

Introduction:

My name is Ibrahim Odoma, I am the immediate past SSA to Governor Yahaya Bello on Lands and Housing Services. I am currently the President of Lugard Properties Limited, a Real Estate Development and Consultancy Firm based in Kogi State.

The 100 Housing Estate in Crusher, Lokoja, Kogi State

Tell us about the GYB Land Reforms:
Kogi State is abundandly blessed with vast resources , top of which is its large land mass of about 30000sqkm. His Excellency believes that the key to unlocking the vast potential this State has is how well we manage the vast land resources . in recognition of this fact His Excellency established the Lands And Housing Services Bureau to comprehensively carry out land reforms that would ensure that maximum benefits is derived from our land Holdings. It further went ahead to invest heavily in the Kogi Geographic Information Sysyem to deploy the use of the latest technology in the process of land administration, this led to the digitization of over 300000 land records which has drastically reduced the proliferation of fake land documents and has restored confidence in land transactions in the State.
The Certificate of Occupancy was re desgned with added security features to deter forgery.

Also the process of processing certificate of occupancy has been automated, meaning Certifcates of Occupancy are now processed much faster than ever beforeprior to the coming of the GyB administration less than 2000 residents had valid Certificates of Occupancy but I can tell you on good authority that over 1500 certificates have been processed and duly signed, property owners are coming out to re certify their property because of the confidence they have in the new process.
You know there is a link between Land Titles and access to capital,.. Residents with valid certificate of occupancy have collateral to get bank facilities to invest in income generating business or for business expansion.

So GyB is basically empowering residents by making it much easier for them to access Title for their properties with the attendant benefits.

There is also the Property Owners Express programme with encourages property owners to re certify their land documents at a discounted rate and processed within a period of 60 days.

The Reforms have also made it much easier for allocation and processing land documents for federal Agencies that wish to establish their presence in Lokoja such as FRSC, Federal Road Maintenance Agency, SMEDAN , National Automotive Council and a host of others,.,the presence of these agencies in the State also provides for better collaboration and create job opportunities for residents.

To enhance security , land has been allocated to the Nigerian Army for the establishment of Army formations in the three senatorial districts
In Agriculture, Kogi State has made available about 110000 hectares of land for cassava and oil palm plantation programme.
These reforms will impact positively on the economy of the State and the well being of its residents.

In specific terms, what are some of other things you can vividly recall as practical efforts of this government for the housing sector?

There is a popular cliché in the Housing Sector that Nigeria has a Deficit of about 17M houses nationwide, meaning there is a huge shortfall in the housing needs of Nigerians nationwide. In the past, governments invested a lot of money building houses for its civil servants . but you will agree with me that its not only civil servants that require Governments intervention in housing.

So the new approach being adopted nationwide is to seek collaboration with federal Government Agencies saddled with funding housing development as well as with private developers. In this regard the state governement has exploited the good will it has to attract funding for housing development to the state by partering with Institutions as well as private developers in the housing sector, the collaboration with the federal mortgage bank of Nigeria has led to the successful completion of a 100 housing Estate at Crusher for kogi state workers

Land has just been allocated for the construction of another 500 housing units by the FMBN. Developers are also being encouraged with incentives to enable them deploy capital into housing development. The State Government has also facilitated its State Civil Servants to enjoy other products from the federal mortgage bank such as the home renovation loanover 300 civil servants lave been granted facilities of between 500000 to one million naira to enable them upgrade and renovate their existing homesWith the ongoing land reforms the State Government will accelatate processing of land for genuine private develpers to enable them provide decent and affordable housing for its residents.

Ibrahim Odoma (Left) with our Yabagi Mohammed during the interview

It is expected that with theses interventions and collaborations a significant number of houses would be provided for its residents. It is also expected that the ongoing land reforms which makes it easier and faster to process C of O would enable residents to have collateral to directly access housing construction loans from the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria to build their own houses to their taste.

In closing

In coclusion, I believe that the GYB Administration has done very well in repositioning the economy of the state through sustainable land reforms and deserves commendation in that regard.