By Bashir Hassan Abubakar
As the deadline for the revalidation and development of abandoned lands in Bauchi State drew closer, the State Government has requested land owners to avail themselves the timeframe provided by Government to develop their lands or risk revocation of titles.
It could be recalled that the Bauchi State Government through the Ministry of Land and Survey issued public notice in May 2024 calling on land title holders to revalidate their titles through payment of ground rents and other requirements on or before the end of October 2024.
In the said public notice,which was published in some National Dailies, the Ministry also called on land owners that possessed their titles for over Ten Years to either develop their plots and uncompleted structures or loss titles on those structures identified by the Ministry.
In a follow up interview with our correspondent, the State Director of Lands, Estate Surveyor and Valuer (ESV) Umar Munkaila said that the Ministry has provided an enabling environment for land title holders to revalidate their titles.
The Director further said that undeveloped plots and uncompleted structures is becoming criminal hideouts and interfering with the esthetics within State metropolis and some Local Government Headquarters.
Munkaila said that the Government has provided all necessary social amenities like access roads, water ways, electricity etc in those undeveloped plots and that there is no justification for holding on to a land one cannot develop for over ten years ears.
He reiterated that, “even after paying your ground rent and your land falls in the category of those that had the titles for over ten years, you stand the risk of losing it if you don’t develop the plots or structures”.
Our correspondent reports that the Ministry has listed over 1,500 plots of lands that either need to revalidate their titles or develop such lands before the end of October 2024.