Commissioner Wants Powers On Land Allocation

The Borno State Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Alhaji Babagana Buhari, has appealed to the government to grant the ministry more powers to mass allocation of land.

The commissioner made the appeal in Maiduguri last Sunday at a news conference where he said: “it is our hope that government will delegate powers to the office of the commissioner in 2013 to accelerate the activities of the ministry.’’

Buhari said that the current practise where the powers to grant Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) was vested in the state governor alone had slowed down the activities of the ministry.

“The work load is too much on the governor to sign all C of O because he has to go through other files in other sectors.

“So, we are hoping that the powers will be delegated to the commissioner so he can sign on his behalf.’’

He added that about 5,000 certificates were currently awaiting the governor’s approval.

“We have about 5,000 certificates awaiting the governor’s signature, but we believe that the commissioner can take care of that if granted more powers.’’

He said that the ministry was planning to computerise land allocation in the state in line with modern trend.

“The ministry plans to create a data bank where all data relating to processing and allocation of lands will be kept.’’

He added that the ministry would also acquire new survey and planning equipment to enhance its activities.

“The aim is to produce a comprehensive administrative map for both urban and regional planning in the state,” Buhari said.