Lagos sets up special task force on land grabbers, emphasises PPP on housing provision

by Kingsley Adegboye

IT is no longer news that Lagos state government has signed into Law the Lagos State Property Protection Law, a law that has put a stop to the unwholesome activities of land grabbers (Omo-Onile).

What is new however, is the creation of a special Task Force on land grabbers by the state government to further stem down the nefarious act and repose the desired and deserved confidence of the people in the present administration with the commencement of the implementation of Section 89-92 of the Lagos State Land Registration Law, which aims at registering all authorized family land representatives in Lagos State.

The task force is headed by the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, as Chairman and the Permanent Secretary (Lands Bureau) as Vice Chairman, which is ultimately one of the services being rendered by the Land Registry, is to register family representatives who have the exclusive rights of dealing in family lands.

Making this known at the weekend at the Ministerial press briefing by Lagos Lands Bureau in commemoration of the second year anniversary of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, Special Adviser to the governor on Urban Development, Mrs. Yetunde Onabule, said “Land owning families are therefore enjoined to register their authorized representatives with the Land Registry”.

Relevant family representatives

The Special Adviser added that “In light of this, prospective buyers are also advised to verify the relevant family representatives at the Land Registry to discover the persons authorized to execute the relevant Deed”.

According to her, the instruments, which are creditably serving the purposes they are meant for, have also enhanced the security of title in the land registry, pointing out that with these concerted efforts, the government is very confident to inform the public that the menace of land grabbers in the state is gradually heading towards extinction.

The Special Adviser who emphasised that the private estate developers’ scheme is one of the Public Private Participation (PPP) schemes initiated by the state government to solve housing problems in the state, hinted that over the past half-decade, “We have witnessed with trepidation as available lands in the state shrunk and shrunk under the weight of population explosion and attendant infrastructure development as the state moved from a Metropolitan City to a Megacity with a growing population of over 20 million people with a limited land area of approximately 3,577 sq. km.

“As a government that is genuinely concerned about the living conditions of its citizenry, it took steps to address the problem of housing needs, being one of the challenges of population growth. Amongst the steps taken is to ensure the provision of land to private individuals, organizations and bodies who have the capability and expertise to build affordable houses for occupation by residents of the state. Several qualified private companies had been allocated different parcels of land across the state to develop home schemes for the benefit of all Lagos residents.

“Let me make it abundantly clear that governor Ambode is passionate about obtaining Certificate of Occupancy with ease in the present cosmopolitan state of Lagos. As such, he has signed cumulatively, since the inception of his administration, a total of 4,445 Electronic Certificates of Occupancy (E- C of O).

“This feat, no doubt, is borne out of his renewed effort and desire to accelerate the process of issuing land titles, as well as the increased awareness created by this administration which spurred property owners towards having titles for their landed property”, Mrs. Onabule noted.

According to her, “It is worthy to state that when land is acquired, and title revoked for over-riding public interest, it is our duty and obligation, as a responsible and responsive government, to pay compensation.

“However, payment of compensation must be with the presentation of all necessary documents as may be required, evidence of ownership of the land. We have not relented in our efforts to pay compensation. We have paid and shall continue to pay compensation to all affected persons/groups in this regard. Furthermore, individuals or groups are given alternative land in lieu of monetary compensation”, the Special Adviser explained.

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