From Bola Ogunlayi, Ibadan
Oyo state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has approved and formerly presented to select house owners 521Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) under the state government Home Owners Charter programme.
Some beneficiaries of the programme officially received their Certificates at the event held at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Survey, secretariat Ibadan.
Governor Ajimobi said that the programme was to assist property owners without proper documentation, Survey,Approved Plan and C of O to have a 3 in 1 C of O which is equivalent to the conventional C of O.
He urged the people of the state to take advantage of the Home Owners Charter of the state government to perfect titles and approval for their landed property.
The scheme, according to him will assist property owners in safely securing their properties in the event of litigation or dispute.
The governor stressed that the collection of tenement rate in all local government areas of the State has been declared illegal since November 12, 2012, noting that it had since be replaced by the State Government Land Use Charge.
He described the electronic document as a product of constant innovation and technology which according to him, would afford owners opportunity to access bank loan, get value for their properties and allow for documentation, saying “All our policies and programmes are guided by the rule of law and fear of God. Our manpower development is now driven by technology. The Home Owners Charter Programme is another area where our programmes are guided by technology and innovation.
“We must constantly push to improve, and today I can boldly say that we have fulfilled the purpose ofgovernance. We have made all aspects of governance better than we met them.There is no sphere of human life that we have not touched and improved upon.The purpose of this programme is to make like better for the citizens with the aid of technology.
“Like Ibadan Masterplan, you know that before we came, there was nothing like Masterplan and today we have one inplace. This document will readily help in documentation, value for propertiesand opportunities for the owner to access bank loan,” Governor Ajimobi added.
In his address, the state Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Survey, Isaac Omodewu said that the Home Owners Charter C of O is pegged at N125,000, saying that civil and public servants could pay for the scheme in three installments of 40, 30 and 30% basis.
“It is noteworthy to say that members of the public have been avoiding the perfection of their land documents, claiming that the cost was too exorbitant before this administration came into being but since the present administration introduced the Home Owners Charter, the situation has changed,” Omodewu declared.