Gombe State government has disclosed that the investment of N1.9 billion in establishing the Gombe State Geographic Information System (GOGIS) has paid off, as the agency has generated a profit of two billion naira for the state.
GOGIS was established as a means to accurately record and manage land and information in the state.
The agency is responsible for the planning, design, and implementation of land registry, geographic information, and mapping services as well as providing a comprehensive database on land ownership and valuation in the state.
The Director-General of GOGIS, Dr. Kabiru Usman, expressed his delight at the agency’s success within four years of its establishment, stating that GOGIS has effectively reduced the issue of land disputes and enhanced the ease of doing business in the sector.
“All the processes are computerized now, even the bills are generated automatically by a computer, so we have eliminated sharp practice and other forms of corruption”, he noted.
Before now, you could see five people and even 10 people on a single plot of land, but now with the advent of GOGIS that has been addressed, even if two people or more bear the same name, the system will differentiate the land by the land numbers,” the DG said.
Dr. Kabiru who stated this in an interview with journalists in his office explained that one of the flagship projects of GOGIS has been the shift from a manual way of doing things in the state Ministry of Lands and Survey to a digital and automated system at the agency.
According to him, the agency has been able to establish standard land administration practices with the introduction of technology.
Dr. Kabir added that the agency has been contributing to the realization of the investment drive of the state government.
He further disclosed that the agency was working towards bringing more value to the state by expanding its services and developing a well-planned and carved layout with land allocation for modern facilities to serve as a prototype for future developments in the state.
On major challenges facing the agency, the DG sought the support and cooperation of stakeholders in the sector, especially traditional leaders.
He said, “We are calling on our traditional rulers to support GOGIS and stop creating slums and unplanned settlements in the state”.
He tasked his GOGIS team and state government to sustain the tempo in controlling development and ensuring world best practices in land administration in the state.
“Our efforts are already paying off because apart from the revenue that we generated, the Gombe state has been awarded as the best state in Geographic Information System (GIS) in Nigeria”, Dr. Kabiru stated
