Wike Signs 26,272 Certificates of Occupancy in 3 Years, Surpasses 13-Year Record
The Federal Capital Territory Administration has disclosed that FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has signed 26,272 Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-Os) since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office in May 2023.
The figure represents an increase of 17,575 over the 8,697 C-of-Os produced and signed between 2010 and 2023.
The disclosure was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka.
According to the statement, the development is part of efforts by the FCT Administration to improve the ease of doing business in the nation’s capital in line with the Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The statement said, “A total of 26,272 Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) have been signed by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, since the President assumed office.”
It added that the 8,697 C-of-Os signed between 2010 and 2023 comprised 5,500 issued during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan and 3,197 during the eight-year administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Olayinka explained that many beneficiaries of the 26,272 C-of-Os signed under Wike had received their land allocations more than a decade ago.
He noted that the C-of-O is an important property document that can be used as collateral for commercial loans, mortgages and business expansion, stressing that delays in obtaining the document could restrict access to financing, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses.
The FCT Administration said it had streamlined the process of issuing C-of-Os, including the introduction of an automated notification system to alert allottees when their documents are ready for collection.
According to Olayinka, land allottees can now obtain their C-of-Os within two weeks after making the required payments.
“The moment necessary payments are made, land allottees can now get their C-of-O within two weeks. Also, an automated notification has been introduced to ensure that land allottees are informed when their documents are ready for collection,” he said.
He attributed previous delays in processing the documents to administrative inefficiencies, which, according to him, discouraged some landowners from completing their payments.
The statement further revealed that the FCT Administration granted 2,521 Consents to Assign and 177 Consents to Mortgage within the first three years of the Tinubu administration.
By comparison, 753 Consents to Assign and 180 Consents to Mortgage were granted during the Jonathan administration, while the Buhari administration recorded 684 Consents to Assign and 164 Consents to Mortgage.
A Consent to Assign is required for the transfer of an interest in a property, while a Consent to Mortgage is required before a property can be used as collateral for a loan.
The FCT Administration said the measures were designed to improve access to property documentation, unlock the financial value of land assets and facilitate business financing in the Federal Capital Territory.
