Guide To Registering Land In Abuja - With Realtor Diamond Bekee

Who owns and manages the land in Abuja?

By default all the land in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), including Abuja, belongs to the Federal Government of Nigeria. Authority over the land in Abuja is given to the FCT Minister, who acts on behalf of the president of Nigeria.

The FCT Minister heads two important agencies that directly oversee land management in Abuja, namely The Federal Capital Development Agency (FCDA) and Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS).

The FCDA is in charge of the overall development of Abuja. The FCDA manages things like designing, planning and construction as the city continues to expand. Their main goal is to ensure that Abuja becomes “a first class Capital City and Territory comparable to the best Capital Cities and Territories in the world.”

On the other hand AGIS directly manages land administration in Abuja. Services offered by AGIS include:

• Issuance of Certificates of Occupancy
• Issuance of Rights of Occupancy
• Naming streets and numbering houses across Abuja
• Providing both textual and graphical data on the FCT (land records, satellite images, aerial photographs etc.)
• Property search and land verification
• Land allocation applications
• Revenue collection
• Other related customer services
• preferred and the size of the plot sought can also be stated on the form.

Make an application payment of 100,000 Naira to AGIS through one of the following banks: Zenith Bank, Fidelity Bank, First Bank, Eco Bank, Heritage Bank or SunTrust Savings & Loans Ltd.

Obtain a receipt from the AGIS Finance department by presenting evidence of making the appropriate application payment.

Formally make an application at AGIS accompanied with the following documents: completed application form, Tax Clearance Certificate, two passport sized photographs, photocopy of payment receipt, appropriate means of identification (driver’s license, national ID card or international passport).

Collect an acknowledgment slip in order to claim any land that may eventually be allocated to you.

A successful application results in you being granted a statutory Right of Occupancy. It is important to note that a Right of Occupancy is in essence an offer in respect to the land allocated. This can and should be perfected to a Certificate of Occupancy as soon as possible. Doing so gives you full ownership and rights to the land. The process for obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy can be started at the same AGIS.