Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, on Friday directed existing landowners with Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) to pay at least N50,000 for recertification.
The minister announced the directive while interacting with journalists in Abuja.
Wike, in the televised programme, said issuance of C of O in the territory would require a National Identification Number, NIN, or Bank Verification Number, BVN, going forward.
According to the Minister, recertification of the C of Os would cost N50,000 for individuals and N100,000 for corporate bodies.
“For everyone who has a C-of-O, they will come for a recertification, so that we can incorporate the NIN or BVN.
“Those who had a C-of-O before don’t need to pay money again – the highest they can pay is N50,000, and corporate bodies will pay N100,000. It helps in terms of security; it also helps to improve our revenue generation.”
The minister lamented that there are a lot of discrepancies and cloning of C-of-Os in the FCT, saying his administration has “come up with an idea that every allottee who seeks and applies for a C-of-O must supply his NIN”.
“This is one of the features we are going to put in the new C-of-O”, he explained.
