Anambra State Ministry of Lands says it has finalized plans to train over 80 staff on land information and other related programmes on Information Communication Technology (ICT).
This is following the introduction of Geographic Information System (GIS) in the process of land allocation by the State Commissioner of Lands, Bonaventure Enemali.
The application of GIS, an ICT programme adopted by the State Government to harmonize the process of land allocation in the state, ensures that residents of the state do not need to go to the Ministry to ascertain available lands and also makes it possible to monitor legally purchased land in the comfort of their homes.
In an exclusive interview with TNC in Awka, Commissioner Enemali said the State Governor, Willie Obiano had directed that all Lands in the State would be electronically accessed to promote transparency and discourage fraudulent activities related to land transactions.
According to him, the Electronic Data Management System (EDMS) will capture every land data online, as it will end paper documentation, to further avoid the tale of loss of files.
“The digital documentation of Lands will put an end to double allocation and illegal taxation, but provide relevant information on lands in the state.
“With that, land applicants will pay at the right channel, into the government account and present to us, the evidence of payment for proper processing. When this programme commences, you do not need to come to the Ministry of Lands for any reason. You will get every information at the comfort of your home. If you must come, the customer service will attend to know you, and with this, you will not have an interface with the land processing staff,” he pointed out.
Enemali explained that the initiative is in line with the reforms that are ongoing in the Lands Ministry, aimed at checking unnecessary extortion and ensuring prompt response to land applications.
“These and more are the basic reforms in the land allocation. With this process also, every land in the State will be captured, to enable applicants to search for information about any land in the State.” Enemali explained.
Speaking on the acquisition of Certificate of Ownership (C of O), the Lands Commissioner pointed out that the state government had subsidized the process fee as well waived some stringent requirements imposed by the previous administrations.
“Now for the private lands, the Attorney General will sign within two weeks while government lands, the Governor will sign within one month. We urge individuals and investors to harness this wonderful opportunity to buy land in the state for industrial purposes. It is in line with the”Aku-luo-uno” policy of Gov Willie Obiano. We need more industries and the State will provide the land and every other necessary assistance.” Enemali added.
The Commissioner further explained what transpired with one Mr Ugochukwu Adilieje, who issued a press release, claiming that he, Enemali revoked his land.
“That claim is fallacious. The said land was revoked under the administration of a former governor, Mr Peter Obi in 2008. Meanwhile, Mr Adilieje purchased the land since 1982 but failed to develop it in line with the stipulated provisions of the Land Use Act before the revocation. Let’s remember that every land belongs to the government and can be revoked after allocation for not observing the terms of the allocation,” he revealed.
It was gathered that Mr Adilieje had already sold the land to a developer (name withdrawn) to the tune of N170 million, to be paid in instalments.
When the developer went further to ascertain the true position of the land, he gathered that the said land had been revoked since 2008.
