The Lagos State Government has said it is considering investing in satellite to improve land administration processes across the state.
Dr. Olajide Babatunde, Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on e-GIS and Urban Development, dropped the hint on Friday during a stakeholders retreat on the Lagos State Geographic Information Service (LAGIS) Bill being considered by the State Assembly.
Babatunde said that the satellite option will provide improved communication and monitoring, similar to practices in developed countries.
During the retreat top officials and key stakeholders in Lagos State demonstrated their commitment and support for the LAGIS Bill planned to bolster development initiatives and establish a computerised and centralised database for all land administration processes in the state, according to the state government.
The Lagos State Government has outlined that once LAGIS transitions into a full-fledged agency, it will be overseen by a General Manager and supervised by a Governing Board comprising the Permanent Secretaries of relevant Ministries.
LAGIS Bill will streamline land administration in Lagos State, Governor’s aide says
The LAGIS Bill also seeks to elevate the Lagos State Geographic Information Service into a fully-fledged agency that is expected to manage the streamlined and integrated central database for land administration in the state.
The LAGIS Bill has successfully navigated through the first and second readings at the Lagos State House of Assembly, positioning it as a pivotal service that will interconnect all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in Lagos, the state government said in a statement.
During the LAGIS Bill Retreat held in Ikeja on October 25 by the Office of the Electronic Geographic Information system (e-GIS) and Urban Development, senior officials from both the executive and legislative branches of the Lagos State Government and other key stakeholders unanimously endorsed the LAGIS Bill. Upon enactment, the proposed law will establish a comprehensive database and fortify land administration processes throughout Lagos State.
The Lagos State Government has outlined that once LAGIS transitions into a full-fledged agency, it will be overseen by a General Manager and supervised by a Governing Board comprising the Permanent Secretaries of relevant Ministries.
During the retreat session, Dr. Olajide Babatunde, Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on e-GIS and Urban Development, said that the LAGIS Bill, upon becoming law, will bolster development initiatives in the areas of tourism promotion, industrial development, boundary resolution, property valuation, and revaluation.
It will also promote efficient taxation and revenue collection, population and housing census operations, as well as the planning of urban and rural settlements, transportation, flood and erosion control, mineral development, and communication planning within the state, according to Babatunde.
“Lagos State Geographic Information Service,” Babatunde added, “is a service that will connect all the MDAs in Lagos, where we are all going to use data to make our processes more efficient. When the LAGIS Bill becomes law, we will be able to process building approvals seamlessly. What we hitherto did in 10 days, 20 days, or three months, we will be able to do in minutes.”
The Lagos State Governor’s Special Adviser on e-GIS and Urban Development further explained that, “as we speak, even though the agency has not been birthed, we have been working as an Office of eGIS and Urban Development to make sure that all our MDAs that are working specifically on land-related matters—Office of Physical Planning, Office of Urban Development, Office of Surveyor-General, Land Matters, Office of Land Valuation—to ensure that through technology we can get to where we are today.”
“Lagos State Geographic Information Service,” Babatunde added, “is a service that will connect all the MDAs in Lagos, where we are all going to use data to make our processes more efficient. When the LAGIS Bill becomes law, we will be able to process building approvals seamlessly. What we hitherto did in 10 days, 20 days, or three months, we will be able to do in minutes.”
– Dr. Olajide Babatunde, Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on e-GIS and Urban Development.
He encouraged residents of the State to take advantage of the ongoing Lagos State Government amnesty window to obtain building approval for their property.
“The Office of Physical Planning is carrying out what is called amnesty, and under the amnesty programme, we are asking those who did not have building approval to go and get the approval. Failure to get the approval will mean that government agencies will disturb those buildings. We should try as much as possible to live in peace.
The government is peaceful, but when confronted with challenges of building approval, particularly those that lead to building collapses, we cannot rest as a government. Rather than lose lives and properties, we will ensure that we do not rest until we make sure that 10 percent of those who have building approvals in Lagos grow from 10 to 20, from 20 to 30, 30 to 50, and 50 to 100.”
Sylvester Ogunkelu, Chairman of the Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Physical Planning, e-GIS, and Urban Development, who represented Mudashiru Obasa, the Speaker, said that the LAGIS Bill has successfully passed a second reading on the floor of the House of Assembly.
Ogunkelu assured Lagos residents that they will benefit greatly once the bill is enacted into law as it will streamline the process of obtaining land certificates and promote transparency in land transactions within Lagos State.
Once the bill becomes law, residents will have the convenience of processing Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) and other documents from the comfort of their homes through an electronic platform, according to the state government.The Lagos State e-GIS portal offers online access to the state’s electronic land management solution, allowing users to easily conduct land transactions, access documents, and submit necessary information such as applications and payments. The portal’s primary objective is to provide comprehensive spatial data for effective planning in the State.
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