The government of Oyo State, on Tuesday, declared its readiness to ensure that all land owners in the state have digitised title documents by December 2022.

It noted that the decision was part of its efforts aimed at shoring up the State’s Gross Domestic Product, adding that the processing and collection of Certificate of Occupancy has now become faster, easier and affordable.

The State Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Barrister Abiodun Abdu-Raheem, made these known in a statement he signed and made available to newsmen in Ibadan.

He explained that government has commenced the accelerated provision of digitised title documents, urging all eligible property owners without title or approved documents to take advantage of the window of opportunity for the processing and collection of Certificate of Occupancy within Sixty (60) days under the Oyo State Home Owners Charter (OYHOC) scheme.

Abdu-Raheem further noted that through the scheme, the government will bear the cost of survey and planning permission for all applicants who do not have them, saying: “Records have shown that majority of residential landed properties in Oyo State have no registered titled documents, leaving such property owners open to many risks, hence the need for the C of O.

“All C of Os issued under the improved OYHOC will not only be digitised, for ease of authenticity confirmation, it will also be the same legal instrument as any other C of O being issued by the government.

“Property owners can, therefore, now easily use their properties as collateral for any financial transaction as well as having their documentation on the digital database of the Ministry for ease of confirmation and transfer.”

Barrister Abdu-Raheem added that application forms can be obtained at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development at the State secretariat, all Local Government Authority Offices as well as Local Council Development Authority offices (LGA &LCDA’s) for only N6,000.00 (Six thousand Naira) payable using customised OYHOC recharge cards.

He said: “All applicants must immediately register their application by following the instructions on the recharge card as the unique PIN on the recharge card will serve as their application number and as receipt for the application form payment.

“The first 2,000 applicants will enjoy a 15 per cent discount, hence it is critical for all applicants to immediately register their application with the OYHOC recharge cards following the instructions carefully.”

The commissioner, however, noted that the concessionary processing fee applicable for the OYHOC scheme C of O is only available for applications received between now and 31st December, 2020.

He further stated that applications can also be done online via www.lands.oyostate.gov.ng, while enquiries can be made through the Room 4, Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, State Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan or through 0700 696 52637 (0700 OYO LANDS) and email: lands@oyostate.gov.ng