By Taofeek LAWAL, Abuja
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Musa Muhammad Bello, has said the Area Council land title owners, beneficiaries of mass housing schemes and multi dwelling structures in the FCT can now have their titles regularized paving the way for the issuance of Certificates of Occupancy (C of O). The minister stated this during the commissioning ceremony of the Accelerated Area Council and Sectional Titles Re-Issuance Scheme (AACSTRIS) project office recently in Abuja.
According to Bello, AACSTRIS will address the issue of land acquisition in the FCT and will give land owners the opportunity from their real estate investment and at the same time increase the revenue base of the FCTA through the payment of premium, ground rents and other sundry charges to be used to complete major capital projects in the territory.
The minister said, “Land title owners across the Area Councils and home owners in the many estates and mass housing schemes in the FCT can now fully benefit from their real estate investments as regularized titles would be issued statutory Rights of Occupancy and subsequently, Certificates of Occupancy which are bankable instruments. The AACSTRIS will give land owners the opportunity from their real estate investment and at the same time increase the revenue base of the FCTA through the payment of premium, ground rents and other sundry charges to be used to complete major capital projects in the territory
Bello described AACSTRIS office as another milestone in the quest of building a very efficient and responsive land administration in the FCT. He commended the management of the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS) and Department of Land Administration for their commitment to the project while he also appreciated members of the three Committees of the FCT in the National Assembly for their support of the FCTA projects.
The Director of the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS), Dr Isa Jalo, said that the main objectives of the AACSTRIS project include; processing the backlog of pending applications for the regularization of Area Council land titles from customary to statutory titles, updating of spatial and land information records for pending applications for regularization of Area Council Titles, commencing of issuance of Sectional Titles for Multi-dwelling Units and Mass Housing Estates in the FCT, liaising with staff of the FCTA/FCDA to resolve outstanding issues associated with problematic Area Council land application allocations and issuance of title to successfully vetted Area Council titles.
The AGIS boss said 302 layouts so far have been vetted by the Department of Urban and Regional planning and which will be processed into the AGIS database after meeting all statutory requirements while over 700 title were vetted by the Department of Land Administration. He added the Mass Housing Department had submitted documents from 23 estates under the mass housing scheme for processing of C of O to beneficiaries while 702 Rights of Occupancy were issued pending payments for Certificates of Occupancy (C of O).