The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, says obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) in Abuja will now require a National Identification Number (NIN) and Bank Verification Number (BVN).<\/p>\n
Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Friday, Wike also noted that existing landowners in the capital must get recertification to incorporate these new features.<\/p>\n
According to the minister, he has been refraining from signing C-of-Os during his tenure as the FCT minister to introduce enhanced security measures, such as the inclusion of NIN for individuals and BVN for corporate bodies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of discrepancies, a lot of cloning of C-of-Os, so we have 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf a corporate body doesn\u2019t have an NIN and they have a property, they must put their BVN. So many persons have not registered, and this will make them go and re-register.\u201d<\/p>\n
Addressing the issue of existing landlords with C-of-Os, Wike stated that they would only be required to pay a nominal fee for recertification.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor everyone who has a C-of-O, they will come for a recertification, so that we can incorporate the NIN or BVN,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose who had a C-of-O before don\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are people who own seven properties, so this will identify them so they can pay taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Wike highlighted the benefits of this initiative in identifying property owners accurately for tax purposes.<\/p>\n
He also addressed the proposed N5 million fee for C-of-O from the annual ground rent, explaining that the fee is based on land ownership rather than the structure built on it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe task force proposed N5 million, and the stakeholders said let it be reduced. They asked, \u2018If it\u2019s going to be on properties four-bedroom or bed-bedroom?\u2019, again, you have to understand that the C-of-O is not based on the building but the land. The only difference is the annual ground rent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one with a two-bedroom property cannot pay the same as the person with a three-bedroom property,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, says obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) in Abuja will now require a National Identification Number (NIN) and Bank Verification Number (BVN).…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":99599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n