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The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has announced that 26,272 Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) have been produced and signed since President Bola Tinubu assumed office, as part of efforts to improve the ease of doing business and expand access to property-backed financing.
The figure represents an increase of 17,575 certificates compared with the 8,697 produced and signed between 2010 and 2023 under previous administrations.
According to a statement by Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the FCT Minister, 5,500 Certificates of Occupancy were produced during the five-and-a-half-year administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, while 3,197 were signed during the eight years of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.
Many beneficiaries of the newly processed certificates received their land allocations more than a decade ago but could not obtain the necessary documentation.
A Certificate of Occupancy is a key legal document that enables property owners to access commercial loans, mortgages, and capital for business expansion. Delays in obtaining the document have often limited small and medium-sized enterprises’ ability to use their assets as collateral for funding.
Olayinka said the current administration has simplified the process for land allottees.
“The moment necessary payments are made, land allottees can now get their C-of-O within two weeks,” Olayinka said in a statement on Sunday.
He added that an automated notification system had also been introduced to inform applicants when their documents were ready for collection, and attributed previous delays to inefficiencies that discouraged some landowners from completing payment processes.
Beyond Certificates of Occupancy, the FCT Administration under Minister Nyesom Wike has also granted 2,521 Consents to Assign and 177 Consents to Mortgage within the last three years.
The figures compare with 753 Consents to Assign and 180 Consents to Mortgage granted during Jonathan’s administration, as well as 684 Consents to Assign and 164 Consents to Mortgage during Buhari’s eight-year tenure.
A Consent to Assign is required when transferring ownership of a property, while a Consent to Mortgage allows property owners to use their assets as security for loans.
