Oyo launches digitised C of O

The Oyo State Government has launched a digitised Certificate of Occupancy issuance platform as part of its strategy for growing the Gross Domestic Product of the State.

A release issued by the Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Abiodun Abdu-Raheem, noted that the processing and collection of Certificate of Occupancy is now faster, easier and affordable.

While he urged all eligible property owners without title or approved documents to take advantage of the opportunity, Abiodun also revealed that the Oyo State Government will ensure all land owners in the State have digitised title documents by December 2022, amidst the accelerated provision of the title documents.

Abdu-Raheem said: “The processing and collection of Certificate of Occupancy would take only Sixty (60) days under the Oyo State Home Owners Charter (OYHOC) scheme. While Government will bear the cost of survey, planning permission and all other relevant documents for applicants who do not have them under the OYHOC scheme.

“Records have shown that majority of residential landed properties in Oyo State have no registered titled documents leaving such property owners open to many risks, hence the need for the C of O.”

According to the Lands helmsman, all C of Os issued under the improved OYHOC will not only be digitised, for ease of authenticity confirmation, they would also be the same legal instrument as any other C of O being issued by the Government.

Abdu-Raheem added: “Property owners can now easily use their properties as collateral for any financial transaction as well as having their documentation on the digital database of the Ministry for ease of confirmation and transfer.”

He further hinted that application forms can be obtained at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development at the State Secretariat, all Local Government Authority Offices as well as Local Council Development Authority offices for only N6,000, payable using customized OYHOC recharge cards.

He also said all applicants must immediately register their application by following the instructions on the recharge card as the unique PIN on the recharge card will serve as their application number and as receipt for the application form payment.

The Commissioner pointed out that the first 2,000 applicants will enjoy a 15 per cent discount, hence it is critical for all applicants to immediately register their application with the OYHOC recharge cards following the instructions carefully.

Abdu-Raheem however noted that the concessionary processing fee applicable for the OYHOC scheme C of O is only available for applications received between now and December 31, 2020.

He further urged applicants to visit the website: www.lands.oyostate.gov.ng, while enquiries can be made through Room 4, Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, State Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, with telephone number: 0700 696 52637 (0700 OYO LANDS) and email: lands@oyostate.gov.ng.