Newsbreak: Lagos launches digital platform for C-of-O, land requests, sales, acquisition
Innovation is first in Nigeria
By Samuel Ogunsona and Ahmed Adio
The Lagos State Governement has launched an electronic platform that will allow residents to access all necessary information about land acquisition and also process necessary documents from the comfort of their homes.
The electronic system is expected to eliminate the cumbersome process often associated with buying, selling land and also the long process of obtaining Certificate of Occupancy or Government consent.
The State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu said with the initiative, Lagos has attained the most advanced stage in land documentation and acquisition by launching an electronic Geographic Information System (e-GIS) which provides digitised access to all data pertaining to the lands in the state before a purchase is facilitated.
In his statement obtained by Irohinoodua, Sanwo-Olu said the e-GIS portal is a one-stop digital platform that sanitises and revolutionises the process of acquiring, documenting, and verifying land in Lagos.
“With the portal now live, applications for land titles have transitioned from the centuries-old manual paperwork into digital form, eliminating the need for middlemen and the associated costs applicants previously faced.”
He said with the platform, anyone can verify, search, and apply for land titles, including Governor’s Consent, from the comfort of their homes at the click of a computer button.
“This innovative system has organized all archived land records dating back to the 19th century and merged them with all land titles, storing historical transactional data on every parcel of land in the State’s cadastra” Sanwo-Olu said.
He said the commitment to creating an enabling environment for Lagosians and investors underscores his dedication to improving service delivery to our citizens.
He said “This automated process has transitioned land transactions in the metropolis from manual paper form into a digital format, interpreting them into our Land Registry’s workflow.”
Observers have hailed the decision yet with some reservations. An official of Nigerian Human Rights Community, (NHRC) said the initiative is very good but that for its effectiveness, the Lagos State Government needs to address the human content. “The lands registry is one of the most corrupt departments in Lagos State. The innovation is good, but as long as the corrupt officials remain in land registry, the platform will not solve the problem” said Mr Taiwo Adeleye of NHRC.
He urged the Governor to first purge the lands Ministry of corrupt officials adding that land documentation including CofO should begin from the time anyone purchases the land not when a house has been built which is usually the situation because of corrupt land officials.
“Nigeria is full of good initiatives but the problem is usually implementation, review mechanism and effective monitoring” he said