FCT: Wike Signs 26,272 C-Of-Os Under Tinubu, Surpassing 13-Year Total

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration has produced and signed 26,272 Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) since President Bola Tinubu assumed office, representing 17,575 more than the 8,697 certificates produced and signed between 2010 and 2023.

The figure, according to the FCT Administration, is part of efforts to improve the ease of doing business in the territory and support property owners, investors and businesses in accessing financing.

In a statement issued on Sunday by the minister’s senior special assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, has signed the 26,272 certificates since assuming office under the Tinubu administration.

Olayinka said the figure represented a significant increase compared with the number of Certificates of Occupancy processed and signed under previous administrations.

He disclosed that 5,500 Certificates of Occupancy were produced and signed during the five-and-a-half-year administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, while 3,197 were produced and signed during the eight-year tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Many of the beneficiaries of the 26,272 Certificates of Occupancy processed under the present administration, he said, received their land allocations more than a decade ago.

According to him, the issuance of C-of-Os is important to economic activity because the document can serve as collateral for commercial loans, mortgages and business expansion capital.

He noted that delays in obtaining Certificates of Occupancy had remained a major challenge for property owners and small and medium-sized businesses, particularly where access to financing depends on having proper title documents.

Olayinka said the FCT Administration had consequently streamlined the process, enabling land allottees to obtain their Certificates of Occupancy within two weeks after completing 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 to administrative inefficiencies, which, according to him, discouraged some landowners from completing their payments and obtaining the necessary documentation.

Beyond Certificates of Occupancy, Olayinka said the FCT Administration under Wike had also recorded an increase in the processing of other property-related documents.

He said 2,521 Consents to Assign and 177 Consents to Mortgage had been granted in the first three years of the Tinubu administration by the FCT Administration.

This compares to 753 Consents to Assign and 180 Consents to Mortgage granted during the Jonathan administration, and 684 Consents to Assign and 164 Consents to Mortgage during the Buhari administration.

A Consent to Assign is a legal approval required for the transfer of interest in a property, while a Consent to Mortgage is required before a property can be used as security for a loan.

The FCT Administration said the reforms were aimed at reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks in land administration, strengthening property documentation and making it easier for individuals and businesses to unlock the economic value of their properties.

The administration said the improved processing of title documents was also consistent with the Federal Government’s broader efforts to promote ease of doing business and stimulate private-sector investment in the FCT.