The Enugu State Government says ground rent, land use charge and all property-related charges have now been unified and reduced by over 60 per cent.
Gov. Peter Mbah made this at a stakeholders’ town hall meeting on land sector development, held at the International Conference Centre, Enugu, on Thursday.
Mbah, represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said that the government had abolished illegal levies and streamline the land-related charges, as part of land reform and its broader economic transformation agenda.
He said that property owners were required to pay only single Unified Land Use Charge annually, through the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS).
Mbah said that his administration remained committed to building a transparent, efficient, and investor-friendly land administration system, anchored on legality, digitisation, and accountability.
He described land as the legal foundation for housing, infrastructure, agriculture, commerce, and investment.
According to him, since inception, the administration has pursued deliberate reforms to modernise land governance.
“This include reduction uncertainty, curb abuse, and restore public confidence in the land tenure system.
“These reforms are anchored on transparency, predictability, digitisation of records, and strict adherence to statutory processes for land allocation, registration, and development control.
“The effective land governance must be driven by continuous engagement with communities, professionals, investors, traditional institutions, and citizens.
“A major highlight of the reforms is the immediate ban on the controversial Ogbonecheagu fees collected by some communities and local governments,” he said.
Mbah declared all such fees illegal and directed their outright abolition following widespread complaints by residents.
He said that a task force had been constituted to enforce compliance, while urging members of the public who were compelled to pay such illegal charges to submit evidence to whistleblowing@enugustate.gov.ng for prompt intervention.
The governor further revealed that the reforms were informed by the recommendations of a multi-stakeholder Committee on Land-Related Revenue and Administration, constituted to address complaints of multiple taxation and revenue abuse in the state.
In his remarks, Mr Chimaobi Okorie, the Commissioner for Lands and Urban Development, said that Mbah had introduced critical policy directions and legal instruments.
Okorie said that these directions included an executive order declaring nine of the state’s 17 local government areas as urban areas, to enable planning and structured infrastructural development.
He also said that the administration enacted the Enugu State Geographic Information System (ENGIS) law to serve as a one-stop platform for land transactions and to drive the full digitisation of land processes and systems.
According to him, land records are now fully harmonised, eliminating cases of missing files, while every plot of land in the state can be digitally tracked.
The commissioner added that applicants seeking Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) could now apply online or walk into designated government offices for seamless processing.
He said that the Property Protection Law signed by Mbah, guaranteed the security of legitimate property ownership and protect investors’ assets.
In his presentation, the Managing Director of ENGIS, Mr Chiwetalu Nwatu, announced that all buildings located in housing estates owned by the Ministry of Housing and the Housing Development Corporation must henceforth obtain building approval directly from the ministry and the corporation, irrespective of their locations.
Nwatu said that building approval for houses in non-government estates within the Enugu municipal area would now be processed exclusively by the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority (ECTDA), to eliminate jurisdictional overlaps and administrative delays.
He said that Certificates of Occupancy for all buildings in both private and government estates would be processed directly for individual property owners, thereby strengthening security of titles and improving assets bankability.
Also, Mr Emmanuel Nnamani, the Executive Chairman of the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ES-IRS), said that the newly signed Tax Law was designed to place a greater tax burden on the wealthy while protecting low-income earners.
Nnamani urged residents to obtain their Tax Identification Numbers, free of charge, and comply with tax filing requirements, to enable the government to generate accurate data for development planning.