PROPERTY NEWS

THE Lagos authorities have expressed deep concern over large-scale encroachment and contravention on its landed property after several warnings, saying that such acts have continued to deprive genuine developers the opportunity of getting land in the state.

The government believes that its new policy that decentralised approval plans processes would fast-track land administration and called on the allot tees in all its schemes to commence the development on them.

The Permanent Secretary, Lands Bureau, Mr. Gbenga Ashafa, said allottees, particularly in Lekki have been given three months to commence development on their land, failure which he said may lead to revocation of plots of the affected land.

According to him, the new policy has removed any bottleneck or bureaucracy hitherto associated with land transaction in the state, adding that government want to remove any tendency towards land speculation. He noted that failure to take possession of such land and commencing development on them has created rooms for speculators and touts in the sector. "Besides, this untoward development is depriving the genuine developers the opportunity to land, while at the same time, provided a veritable opportunities to land speculators, a situation which government frown at".

Ashafa also expressed worries over the activities of land grabbers, usually from traditional land owning families, who have been harassing those who bought land from the government and families.

The land bureau chief spoke on the backdrop of visit to some of its sites such as Ikorodu, Epe and Badagry and Lekki axis. "We discovered a lot of illegal structures and buildings constructed on state land by some people persons, companies or institutions without valid titles. All these structure would be removed accordingly by the appropriate government agencies".

These illegal encroachments were noticed in Igbogbo Millennium estate site, Ikorodu GRA III, Ijanikin Rose Garden, Sunny field, Oko-Afo schemes.

However, officials were of the opinion that despite the fact that acquisition of land in government schemes is cheaper than from families and individuals, some people still believed that it is better to buy land through informal means than government, on the excuse that a lot of bureaucracy and corruption characterize the process of acquiring government land.

Speaking at forum held by government officials in Akodo last week, the Managing Director, New Lease Development Company, Mr. Richard Ayodele urged government to ensure transparency in land allocation and administration.

According to him, land transactions in Lagos has over the years, been affected by corruption. This, he attributed to the limited space available and the growing number of people who desire land for developmental purposes.

He noted that despite various efforts to sanitise the system by reducing the processing time and make the process transparent, "some unscrupulous government officials have been capitalising on the gullibility, and sometimes, the desire to circumvent due process by applicants, thus, feathering their own pockets in the process.

His views was collaborated by Mr. Anthony Ayoola, a surveyor, also noted that the situation has got to a terrible condition. Ayoola detested the activities of middlemen, who claim to serve as liaison between the government and applicants.

He said that some professionals, estate agents, even bankers, have infiltrated land allocation system thereby, getting it more corrupt.

Ashafa said it was as a result of such developments that land administration in the state established measures to sanities the system, such as setting up of a complaints desk, the bureau's website, which is to be headed by an Assistant Director, Legal, in the Office of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Lands.

"The complaints manager will function like an ombudsman by receiving complaints of fraudulent land transactions and undue delays in treating applications from members of the public, investigating them and taking necessary correctional measures".

Besides, the names, phone numbers and email addresses of key officials of the bureau will also be published so that members of the public would have direct access to them for enquiries and complaints.

To ensure that middle and low ranking officials are not in position to collaborate with these speculators and middlemen, the bureau said it has resorted to constantly publishing "Governor's Consent" rates and allocation rates for each scheme in order for the applicants and third party buyers to know and be able to calculate on their own what they are supposed to pay to the government.

The bureau has also introduced the publication of the signed Certificates-of-Occupancy (CofO), that are ready for collection by applicants. This is to make the process very transparent and eliminate the air of secrecy that had been built around its issuance, thereby, leading to multiple issuance of the document on the same piece of land in some instances.

It was also learnt that the bureau is also exploring a new partnership with the newly appointed General Manager of another related agency, New Towns Development Authority (NTDA), Dr. Adeyemi Isiba, in order to have better infrastructure in government schemes so that allot tees can move in as early as possible.