The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has declared that any land owner applying for a Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) in the FCT must submit his National Identity Number (NIN).
Speaking with reporters in his Abuja office on Friday, Wike also stated that corporate bodies must submit their Bank Verification Number (BVN).
The minister said the new measure is to ensure the security of such lands, adding that there are individuals with similar names in the FCT.
He said: “There are people who have lands in the area councils, and by the FCT Act, all lands belong to the FCT; no Area Council has the power to allocate land or issue you a C-of-O.
“In order to rectify these anomalies, we’ve set up a council to look into this, as we don’t want to go back and cause some problems for individuals who have land and certificates.
“We informed them to come for proper documentation for the C-of-O. We noticed a lot of discrepancies in the claiming of C-of-O. So, we have the verbal approval of the president, and we’re waiting for it to be official.
“We’ve come up with the idea that every allottee must supply his NIN, and this will help with security as anyone could come to you to claim a C-of-O. So, no one can come up to claim a C-of-O. This is one of the features.
“Also, since corporate bodies don’t have NINs, they have to submit their BVN.
“In the process of introducing this feature, we discovered that so many people have not registered, and now they have to register.”