13th July, 2021
By Jethro Ibileke/Benin
The Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration has digitised over 30,000 files carried on from the Midwest Region through Bendel and Edo States.
This is even as it has issued over 6,500 Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O), in three years.
The Managing Director, Edo State Geographic Information Service Agency (EdoGIS), Arch. Frank Evbuomwan, disclosed this on Tuesday in Benin.
He said: “In the history of the old Midwest Region to Edo State, we have a record of about 30,000 C-of-O and other land titles.
“First, we have been able to digitise over 30,000 legacy files, which are files carried on from the Midwest through Bendel to Edo State. We have moved the physical files from the days of old to digital files. We now have electronic copies of more than 30,000 legacy land files.
“Since the inception of EDOGIS in 2018, we have been able to issue over 6, 500 fresh C-of-O under the administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki. This means that in three years, we have done 20 per cent of what has been done in the State for the past 40 years, and we will continue to go forward. It shows a positive trajectory for registering all the properties in the state.
“We have a program to ensure all lands are titled. We started with easing the entry point, and then advocacy. With the system and technology in place to fully register all properties in the state, we are now tackling unregistered properties in the state at a rate of about 3,000 per year, which we shall ramp up to about 10,000 per year from next year.”
Evbuomwan who noted that one of the biggest achievements of the agency is that it has opened the State for economic growth, added, “Our services have attracted several investors to the state to do business.”