Edo goes paperless as Obaseki plans electronic signing of C-of-O

Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has said the Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) is the only document he still signs manually as the state’s chief executive, noting that plans have been concluded to begin electronic signing of the title document.

Obaseki, who disclosed this when he spoke with journalists in Benin City, the Edo State capital, reaffirmed his government’s commitment to ensuring a completely paperless governance system.

He said the state has embraced technology through the e-governance system and has transitioned into a paperless government, leading to the archiving of seven million government documents.

Obaseki noted that the new system has streamlined government operations and ensured accountability, transparency, effectiveness, efficiency, and quick service delivery to the Edo people.

The governor who stated that the State has since commenced the issuance of computerised Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) to landed property owners in the State, said plans have been concluded to introduce electronic signing of C-of-Os as part of renewed efforts to enhance efficiency and transparency in land administration.

He said, “We have focused on reducing our cost of governance, leveraging technology. We have made significant progress in our land administration system through our nuanced reforms. Very soon, I will begin to sign our Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-Os) electronically. They are the only documents I sign now. Everything else is online; we’re paperless.”

The Obaseki-led administration has undertaken nuanced reforms to ease the process of land registration and improvement in land management in the State, leveraging technology.

The governor’s land reforms have led to the approval and issuance of over 30,000 Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-Os) in the last seven and a half years.