Mr. Yakubu Dati, the Commissioner in the Ministry, made this known on Thursday in Jos while unveiling a publication of the ministry on the schedule of new fees.

“Despite the disruptive effect of COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry has generated over N165 million.
“During the same period, a total of 455 Certificates of Occupancy (C of Os) and 581 Rights of Occupancy (R of Os) along with several title deeds have been processed, Dati said.

The commissioner also said that the publication was to promote transparency in its operations in line with Medium Term Sector Strategy (MTSS) as encapsulated in The Plateau State Strategic Plan.

He added that the publication was also part of the ongoing reforms in the ministry to overcome the bottlenecks that had persistently crippled the revenue generation capacity of the ministry in the past.

The commissioner also said that in order to check the phenomenon of urban slums, government approved seven layouts to define the urban planning frameworks that would guide the construction of new neighbourhoods and city extensions.

In this regards, the ministry has entered into Public Private Partnerships (PPP) with land developers including Vanac Estates Ltd, Guya Nigeria Ltd, Clearview security and others who have already created layouts in designated locations within the state, Dati said.

The commissioner said that the government had boosted entrepreneurship in the state, especially SMEs, with the approval of 1,480 Certificates of Occupancy (C of Os) and 3,558 Rights of Occupancy (R of Os).

Dati appealed to land owners to take advantage of the 50 per cent waiver approved by government to register their lands and thereby improve access to finance.

Also, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works and Housing, Mr Sunday Hyat, lauded the government’s vision to create a land market economy which would empower the rural dwellers by unlocking their asset (land).