The outgoing Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, recounted on Thursday how land grabbers reallocated and resold his land at Iyekogba, a community in Oredo Local Government Area.
DAILY POST reports that Governor Obaseki spoke at the commissioning of the Edo Built Environment Hub in Benin City.
The hub houses the Ministry of Physical Planning, Housing, Urban and Regional Development; Edo Geographic Information Service, EdoGIS; Ministry of Roads and Bridges; and Edo State Public Building and Maintenance Agency.
According to him: “Prior to my assumption of office as governor of Edo State, my parcel of land with Edo State Government-approved Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) in Benin was grabbed by land grabbers.
“The property at Iyekogba was resold and the new owner built on it. It’s terrible and that was the situation we met; we can’t develop in this manner.
“The process of developing a house was hijacked by the Community Development Associations, CDAs, as you have to settle them in all fronts before you complete your house as if they are building control.”
The governor noted that the experience informed his administration’s decision to put policies in place to sanitise land administration in the state.
He said among the policies were building the environment, guaranteeing the security of lives and property, and repositioning the state as one of the best places to live and do business in the country.
He opined that land is one of the greatest assets anybody can have, noting that it is important to ensure that the land in the state is well administered and utilised.
Obaseki disclosed that his administration had in the last three years signed and created more than 40,000 C-of-O as against the about 2, 000 signed and issued since the state was created.
“I had the privilege of serving as Head of the Economic Team before becoming governor and just looking at Benin City, Edo State, the biggest value and asset that we have is our location and therefore our land in Edo State is premium.
“Location is everything when it comes to land and real estate. Because of the location of Edo State, the land is premium and there’s no way to realise the value and benefit of our land if it’s not well organised. Edo is one of the richest states in this country in terms of land resources.
“Our land transverses every aspect; we have swamp, rainforest and savanna. We have minerals and large reserves of gas, but all of these need to be mapped because when information is not available, it’s as good as having dead assets.
“It was clear before I became governor that one of the first things we have to do is to start the process of getting information about our land resources. One of the first processes we did was to make contact with one of the companies to help us provide and source the information on what we need for our land assets.
“We have always had a planned environment and by the time I became governor, it was another story. Our land administration process had collapsed.
“The government has over the last eight years taken deliberate steps to improve land administration and sanitise the built environment sector to sustain investors’ confidence, as part of efforts to drive sustainable growth, progress, and prosperity in the state,” he said.
The governor named the EdoGIS building after the late Daniel Omoigui, Nigeria’s first Surveyor-General from Edo State.