Ogun developer says title bill rose from N50m to N1.5bn after C of O suspension
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Noble Grounds managing director Olajide Dosunmu says a certificate of occupancy for a 50-acre parcel that was once estimated at N50 million is now billed at N1.5 billion, and wants Ogun State to publish a standard fee schedule.
A property development company, Noble Grounds Limited, has criticised the rising cost of obtaining Certificates of Occupancy in Ogun State, saying excessive and unexplained charges are discouraging investment and slowing formal development. Managing director Olajide Dosunmu, who spoke to journalists in Lagos, urged the state government to review its land documentation process and publish a transparent, standardised fee structure.
Dosunmu cited the case of a developer processing a C of O for a 50-acre parcel whose title documentation and associated charges were initially estimated at N50 million before the present administration took office. After a prolonged suspension of C of O processing and its subsequent resumption, he said, the developer received a bill of N1.5 billion.
He said the government had not provided a clear valuation formula or breakdown to justify the increase, and warned that unpredictable title costs discourage investment, particularly because developers without valid land documentation struggle to secure bank financing. The situation, he argued, is slowing formal property development and pushing more construction into the informal sector.
Dosunmu compared Ogun's land administration with Lagos, which he said publishes gazetted land values and statutory charges so applicants can estimate the cost of obtaining title, and urged Ogun to adopt a similar system based on published rates, location-specific valuations and defined processing fees including stamp duty. He said the issue had also been raised by industry stakeholders at a forum involving the Minister of Finance, particularly in discussions on infrastructure and affordable housing finance.