PROPERTY NEWS

The Lagos State Government has so far paid a total of N916m as compensation to owners of landed properties affected by developmental activities in the state, the Permanent Secretary, Lands Bureau, Mr. Gbenga Ashafa, has disclosed.

A statement on Friday by the Public Relations Officer of the bureau, Mr. Moshood Adebisi, quoted Ashafa as saying, ‘In view of the fact that some parcels of land were acquired for community development purposes, Governor Babatunde Fashola‘s administration still consider it imperative to pay compensation to those affected."

He explained that the parcels of land acquired by government were being utilised for the transformation of Lagos into a model mega city that Nigerians would be proud of.

He said that in order to ensure that all Certificates-of-Occupancy in circulation were genuine and verifiable; the government had approved the movement away from the old paper document to a more secure electronic format.

Ashafa further noted that in view of the present administration‘s insistence that the possession of a valid C-of-O was a prerequisite for building plan approval; the bureau had witnessed an upsurge in the submission of applications for C-of-Os.

He disclosed that a total of 965 C-of-Os for state land had been issued, while 200 C-of-Os for private land were also issued.

He added that 544 letters of clearance were issued by the Land Use and Allocation Committee to applicants for the processing of building plan approvals.