The Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) hailed the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, for establishing a task group to expedite the issue of Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) in the FCT as a positive step.

According to REDAN, this action will ensure FCT Master Plan compliance, address land-related difficulties, promote faster housing and real estate development, and reduce economic waste caused by building demolitions.

REDAN President Dr. Aliyu Oroji Wamakko, in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, affirmed that this initiative will enhance the economic value for homeowners in the mass housing estates in the FCT.

“This action is in sync with our calls to the Ministry before he assumed leadership,” Wamakko, who also serves as the Chairman and CEO of Jedo Investment Company Limited, stated.

Crucially, the task force aims to address land use contraventions within the FCT.

The Minister has directed the task force to ensure that allottees who have breached land use norms pay penalties, a measure intended to serve as a deterrent.

“This decision is applauded because it is more humane and a clear departure from decisions which result in economic waste by demolition of such buildings,” Dr. Wamakko noted.

The task force is also tasked with catering to the needs of land allottees in the Area Councils who lack C of O for their plots.

This provision, according to the Minister, is intended to stimulate economic life and development in the Area Councils.

Dr. Wamakko also acknowledged the promise by the Chairman of the Task Force, ESV Michael O. Chinda, to accomplish the task within a record one-month period.