Nigeria: In 2009, Ogun State in Nigeria generated more than NGN 4 billion in revenue which was under NGN 200 million in 2004. The reason is the revolution in land management and administration in Ogun State, according to Gbenga Ogunnoiki, Director General of the Ogun State Bureau of Lands & Survey (BLS).
In an interview with All Africa, Ogunnoiki said, “We are doing our things professionally as well as using the unusual business approach. We know that we would exceed our target. One of the approaches we intend to use this year is the introduction of land revenue consultants. They will take our services to every household. They will make processing of land title documents easy, accessible and affordable to property owners. As part of the strategy, we are also doing a kind of decentralisation of our land administration by looking at hinterlands, creating hubs for development at the hinterlands.”
Ogunnoiki said that we have noticed influx of companies into Ogun state. It could be possible because we have liberalised land allocation and land acquisition procedures and processes. He further added that GIS-based Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) in the state is still on. Deadline to change the old C-of-Os under a process known as recertification is June 2010. The usual bureaucracy and all the problems associated with procurement/processing of C-of-O in the past have been eliminated with the help of GIS laboratory.
Source: All Africa
