From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Miffed by allegations of bribery and sharp practices rocking the Homeowners’ Charter scheme, Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, has called on the public to blow the whistle and expose corrupt officials demanding bribes and unauthorised charges.
Amosun, who equally declared his administration would not condone any form of irregularities, made the call yesterday, during distribution of Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-O) and title documents to another batch of 1,000 beneficiaries held at the Arcade Ground, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
Represented by the Head of Service (HoS), Abayomi Sobande, the governor explained that the programme, aimed at helping home owners to regularise the status and documentation of their property at a huge discount, was being used by some officials to swindle unsuspected public.
He asked people not to hesitate to report cases of corruption and fraud, stressing that the government would not relent in tackling the grey areas in the process.
“Expose any corrupt official or fraud and we will deal with them. We will continue to look into the process to make it faster.
“Our administration is committed to serving the people and residents of this state better.” Also speaking, Commissioner for Urban and Physical Planning, Mrs. Ronke Sokefun, told applicants to report sharp practices to her ministry or the ministry of finance.
On his part, Commissioner for Finance, Adewale Oshinowo, disclosed that over 12,000 C-of-Os and building plan approval had been successfully delivered by the state government.
He revealed that to fast-track the scheme, Amosun recently gave directives that all necessary machineries be harnessed towards scaling up the monthly distribution of title documents to 4,000 applicants.
Oshinowo, whose ministry oversees the homeowners charter, said over 149,000 house owners in the state subscribed to the programme.
He noted that out of this number, 77 percent have had their sites inspected, while the remaining 23 percent did not show up during inspection on their sites.
Oshinowo also added that out of the 77 percent that had their sites inspected, 32 percent could not be invoiced due to non-conformity with pre-condition for qualification.
“Such property fall under those built under high tension cable, those occupying right-of-way of the NNPC or any major pipelines, those built on the ‘set-back’ of roads, water bodies, gullies and flood plains.
“Others are substandard or defective property, property subject to legal dispute, non-residential property, and non-habitable property.” Osinowo said.