Only 10 per cent of landlords have titles – Commissioner

Only 10 per cent of house owners in Plateau have titles to their lands, Mr Festus Fuanter, Commissioner, Ministry of Lands and Survey, said in Jos on Tuesday.

Fuanter, who spoke during an advocacy visit to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), revealed that only 60,000, out of the 600,000 house owners in the state, had regularised their title deeds.

Urging defaulters to do the needful or risk sanctions, he said that government had made things simpler by discounting the cost of land documents by 50 per cent.

“The gesture is to encourage land owners to get their documents; everyone must take full advantage of it,” he said.

He urged CAN to spread the good news to Church leaders to enable them regularise their title deeds, stressing that the Plateau Geographic Information System (PLAGIS), had made the process cheaper and faster.

Fuanter said that the ministry was exploring all avenues to enlighten the public on the need to process their title documents, and advised landlords to embrace the carrot approach so as to avoid the stick option.

Dr. Soja Bewarang, the Plateau CAN Chairman, commended the commissioner for the advocacy visit and assured him that the message would be passed down to all Churches.

Bewarang assured the Commissioner of CAN’s readiness to partner the ministry in the campaign.