By CrossRiverWatch Admin
MAY 14, 2018
HIS EXCELLENCY
SENATOR (PROF.) BEN AYADE, ESQ.
THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR
CROSS RIVER STATE
Your Excellency,
OPEN LETTER TO THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF CROSS RIVER STATE ON THE DECLINING STATE OF LAND TRANSACTIONS AND MYSTIFICATION OF GOVERNOR’S CONSENT.
Your Excellency, I am a Practicing and Tax Compliant Lawyer in Cross River State. This letter is premised on my experience and understanding of the plight of members of the society and the legal profession as a result of the status quo in respect of transactions affecting land in Cross River State.
Now to the crux. Your Excellency, the impact of perfection of land transactions with the attendant compulsory requirement of obtaining the Governor’s Consent on the IGR of the State cannot be over accentuated. Likewise its effect on the business of legal practice, and access to credit facilities by citizens in a bid to invest in the State.
It is no unpopular news that since the inception of your administration the grant of Governor’s consent to transactions affecting land has been mystified and strangled, and the issuance of Certificate of Occupancy (C/O) now seems a myth. There are thousands of Deed of Mortgages, Assignments, Leases, Conveyances, Debentures, etc., lying in the Lands Registry, Ministry of Lands & Urban Development, pending the grant of Governor’s consent, even where all requisite fees have been paid. This has not only frustrated legal practice for lawyers, but has further whittled the confidence of investors requiring land, and massively affected access to loan/credit facilities by citizens.
This situation has remained unattended, unresolved, and stagnant despite several public outcry and entreaties from the Nigerian Bar Association. Need I mention the deteriorating and moribund state of the previously affective and efficient Cross River State Geographic Information Agency (CRSGIA), which hitherto eased and expedited land transactions & issuance of certificate of occupancy in the State.
I was called to the Bar as Solicitor & Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, in 2012, and just like the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS), and the Rivers State Geographic Information System (RIVGIS), I was ushered into a computerized system of administration of lands in the State by the existence of the Cross River State Geographic Information Agency (CRGIA), and a seamless process of obtaining Governor’s consent and certificate of occupancy within record time. This eased the process of registering titles & deeds of mortgages, and fast tracked issuance of certificate of occupancy. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case.
While I must commend Your Excellency’s responsiveness to labor issues & payment of wages, as well as the developmental strides and innovations under your administration in Cross River State, I strongly implore and beseech you to bring an end to this quagmire of obtaining Governor’s consent and perfection of transactions affecting land. I urge you to further concretize and resound the high level of responsibility, capability, capacity, and responsive that your administration is known for. Also Your Excellency, being the Digital Governor that you are, maintain the digitalization of land administration in the State through the Cross River State Geographic Information Agency.
God Bless Your Excellency!
God Bless Cross River State!
God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!
DANIEL KIP
Legal Practitioner
Human Rights & Employment Rights Activist
Arbitrator & Dispute Resolution Expert
08036964847, 08170030037
kipdann@gmail.com
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