Wike rakes in over N150bn from CofO signings

• As Kubwa, Lugbe, other districts groan under infrastructure deficit

From Fred Itua, Abuja

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), under Minister Nyesom Wike, has produced and signed 26,272 Certificates of Occupancy (CofOs) in three years, with the transactions estimated at over N150 billion based on applicable charges.

This is even as residents of satellite towns, including Kubwa and Lugbe, continue to lament poor roads, inadequate drainage and other infrastructure deficits.

According to a statement by Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, the FCTA produced and signed 26,272 CofOs since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office three years ago.

Olayinka said the figure was 17,575 higher than the 8,697 CofOs produced and signed in the 13 years between 2010 and 2023 under the administrations of former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari.

A breakdown showed that 5,500 CofOs were produced and signed during Jonathan’s five-year administration, while 3,197 were issued during Buhari’s eight years in office.

Comparable figures for the administrations of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua were not disclosed.

CofO charges in Abuja vary according to location and plot size, with fees reported to range from about N5 million to N8 million or N10 million in some districts. At the lower N5 million benchmark, the 26,272 certificates translate to about N131.4 billion, while higher applicable charges could push the value above N150 billion.

The FCTA also granted 2,521 Consents to Assign and 177 Consents to Mortgage during the three-year period, compared with 753 Consents to Assign and 180 Consents to Mortgage under Jonathan and 684 Consents to Assign and 164 Consents to Mortgage under Buhari.

Both instruments attract separate fees in addition to CofO charges.

FCTA officials said the increase in certificate production was aimed at clearing a backlog inherited by the administration, noting that some beneficiaries had held land allocations for more than a decade without obtaining the required documentation.

A CofO is required by property owners seeking to use land as collateral for loans, mortgages or business expansion.

However, residents of some satellite communities said the administration’s focus on land documentation had not been matched by adequate infrastructure development in their areas.

In Kubwa, residents cited Gado Nasko Road, NEPA Road, Aso Savings Bank Road and Shelter Farm Road as among roads in poor condition.

Commuters said potholes had contributed to increased transport fares and vehicle damage, while poor lighting and slow-moving traffic on some routes had heightened concerns about criminal attacks during the early morning and evening hours.

Residents in the Bwari axis also raised concerns over the Kubwa-Bwari Road, alleging that construction had stalled because of inadequate funding for the contractor handling the project.

In Lugbe, residents under the Fix Lugbe Roads Campaign, in an open letter to President Tinubu, described key access roads within the Federal Housing Authority estate as deteriorated, citing potholes and damaged drainage systems.

They said journeys that previously took between 10 and 15 minutes now lasted considerably longer.

A separate flood hazard study found that about 34 per cent of Lugbe falls within moderate-to-high flood-risk zones, with some areas recording flood depths of more than 1.5 metres during heavy rainfall.

The FCT Minister has in recent months inaugurated several road and infrastructure projects in Abuja city centre. However, residents of Kubwa, Lugbe and other satellite towns said similar infrastructure interventions were yet to reach their communities.