Wike signs over 26,000 property certificates in Abuja in three years

President Bola Tinubu’s government has signed 26,272 Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) in Abuja over the past three years.

This number is 17,575 more than what was signed in 13 years in the Federal Capital Territory.

Lere Olayinka, who works with the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, shared this information in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

He explained that Wike signed the certificates to make business easier in the territory, following President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

“To aid the ease of doing business in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, 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.

“This is against a total of 8,697 produced and signed between 2010 and 2023,” the statement noted.

Olayinka mentioned that during Goodluck Jonathan’s five and a half years in office, 5,500 Certificates of Occupancy were issued. Under Muhammadu Buhari’s eight years, 3,197 certificates were issued.

He said most of the people who benefited from the 26,272 certificates signed by Wike had been waiting for over 10 years.

A Certificate of Occupancy is an important document for getting loans, mortgages, or funding for business growth.

When property owners cannot get their Certificates of Occupancy, it becomes hard for small and medium businesses to access funding.

The Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, stated that the current administration has improved the process. Now, land allottees can receive their documents within two weeks after payment.

“The moment necessary payments are made, land allottees can now get their C-of-O within two weeks.

“Also, automated notifications have been introduced to ensure that land allottees are informed when their documents are ready for collection,” Olayinka said.

He noted that delays in previous administrations were due to inefficiencies that made it hard for landowners to finish payments.

In addition to signing 26,272 Certificates of Occupancy, the government has also granted 2,521 Consents to Assign. In the last three years, 177 Consents to Mortgage were approved by the FCT Administration under Wike.

This is compared to 753 Consents to Assign and 180 Consents to Mortgage given during Jonathan’s administration, along with 684 Consents to Assign and 164 Consents to Mortgage during Buhari’s time.

A consent to assign is a document needed when selling a property or transferring loan agreements. A consent to mortgage is the approval needed to use a property as collateral for a loan.