Gombe reforms in land administration, a model for revenue generation – Official
The Gombe Geographic Information System (GOGIS) says digitalising land administration system has improved land title security, reduced falsification of land documents and boost revenue generation.
The Director-General of GOGIS, Dr Kabiru Usman, said this to newsmen in Gombe on Thursday.
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He said his agency had been able to leverage reforms in land administration through digitalising operations to generate revenue for the state.
He stated that the reforms had also helped in reducing land disputes and enhanced the ease of doing business through proper land administration.
Usman said before the coming of Gov. Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, operations of the agency were done manually but from 2019, the governor revived the agency.
According to him, since then, GOGIS has achieved a lot leveraging technology to address challenges of land administration and management in the state.
“We have since 2020, digitalised processing of certificates and jettisoned the manual approach to processing documents.
“For now, we have completely switched to digital processing of certificates and documents and this has helped curbed sharp practices in the system.
“Today, there is no way to manipulate or falsify figures in terms of certification and documents processing.
“Those days of manual processing, you can have a plot of land with multiple certificates, but now, there is no way you can have a plot with multiple certificates because all certificates are being codified uniquely,” he said.
Usman stated that digitalising the operations of GOGIS had boosted public confidence and attracted investors because all available information about processing and acquisition of landed property were now easy, fast and transparent than ever.
On revenue generation, the DG said from 2020 till date, the agency had been able to rake in about N2 billion to the state government’s purse.
He added that GOGIS had been repositioned to effectively address land disputes, generate revenue for the state and attract more investments.
“The foresight of Gov. Yahaya in reforming this agency to address land related challenges while making it a revenue generation agency is not only commendable but a model that deserved to be adopted by other states especially for revenue generation,” he said.
Usman stated that with more support from the state government, GOGIS could be generating N1.5 billion annually for the state.
On insinuations of land grabbing, Usman said the allegation was not true.
He adding that the allegations were being peddled by those who want the wrong things (manual process of documents) to continue but “we have moved up and upgraded.
“We have been awarded with the best Geographical Information System in Nigeria, we didn’t know we were being watched; we were just doing our job.
“The award showed that we are doing the right thing and we are on the right track.
“Those saying we are grabbing land, that is not true; we are not here to make personal gains but to sanitise the system and put things in right perspectives for proper development of our dear state,” he said.
Our Correspondent reports that GOGIS as an agency plans, designs, and implements land registry, geographic information, and mapping services as well as provide a comprehensive database on land ownership and valuation in the state.
