Lagos State earned N20.7 billion from title perfection, C of O etc. in 2016

Nairametrics| The Special Adviser to Governor Akinwunmi Amobode on Urban Development, Mrs. Yetunde Onabule, over the weekend, briefed journalists on the performance of the State Lands Bureau over the past one year. The performance report, as reported by Guardian, could best be described as mixed as the Bureau surpassed some of its targets but could not achieve others.

The good

• An example of one of the targets the Bureau surpassed was that of revenue generation, which upped to N20.7 billion last one year from N11.4 billion the preceding year.
• The state government claimed that the N20.7 billion earned was from land administration alone.
• Land administration includes items such as title perfection, signing of certificate of occupancy, searches etc.
• As emphasized by Onabule, this record 45% increase is a remarkable feat in the light of the economic challenges that plagued the country since last year.
• Similarly, Onabule claimed that Lagos State had paid over N2 billion in compensations to landowners whose titles were revoked for overriding public interest or whose lands were acquired by the government, as these were the ones who could present all necessary documents evidencing ownership of the lands.

The downsides

• On the flip side, however, the Bureau could not meet its expected revenue from new schemes initiated by the government during the time under review.
• She, however, explained that this was due to infrastructure development within the new scheme, adding that with better strategic procedures and smarter use of information technology being out in place, revenue performance and service delivery in 2017 will be further enhanced.