Oyo State Ministry of Lands Holds 2-day Retreat on the use of Technology to enhance Land Administration Processes

In a bid to address the problems of Land administration in Oyo, the Oyo State Ministry of Land, Housing, and Uban Development last weekend organized a two-day retreat for top officers of the Ministry.

The retreat with the theme: “Technology, a driving force towards efficient Land administration”, was held at the Conference Hotel, Abeokuta, Ogun state.

In his welcome address, the State Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Hon. Akinfunmilayo Williams disclosed that the Oyo state government, under the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde, is working to digitalize land administration in the state for effective service delivery.

According to him, the vision is to ensure efficient and effective Land administration in the State in line with Governor Makinde’s Transformation and sustainable agenda for the good people of Oyo State.

The retreat which was held from January 12th to 13th at Abeokuta focused on how the state Government through the Ministry of Oyo state Ministry of Land, Housing and Uban Development will be able to move from a manual system to an automated and digitalized operations to eliminate delays in service delivery, which will eventually lead to increased revenue generation, he stated.

Furthermore, the retreat was also to discuss various practical strategies on how the Ministry’s target will be achieved. He pleaded with all departmental heads to work as a team and at the same time read the riot act that he was ready to drop any director or Junior staff hindering the attainment of the Mandate given to him by His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Oyo State – Oluseyi Makinde.

The Hon. Commissioner also appreciated the concerted effort put in place by the Lands consultant and the technology deployed thus far, he reiterated that this retreat is an avenue for the consultant to showcase new initiatives in the processes of Lands administration and exchange ideas on ways of achieving the 2024 Revenue Target.

Speaking with journalists at the end of the event, Mr. Femi Taiwo, Head of the Technical Unit of Private Networks Nigeria Limited, explained that the retreat was aimed at showcasing the 7 modules already deployed for the Ministry of Lands in line with their mandate with the State Government and best practices.

In his words: “A 12 billion target had been given to us in the Ministry of Lands and technology is an enabler in achieving set target” As such a practical live demonstration of ALL modules was done and areas of concern were discussed.

He also pointed out that there is a need for all to embrace this.

Participants at this retreat include the Commissioner for Lands, Housing & Urban Development, The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Information, Communication, and Technology, the Special Adviser to the Governor Ministry of Lands, the Special Assistant to the Governor Ministry of Lands and all the directors as well as the deputy directors in the Ministry of Lands Housing, and Urban Development.

“In his remark, the SSA IT applauded these initiatives and made it clear that technology is the future of this country, most especially the Ministry of Lands where a lot of data and information are been archived. He also allayed the fear usually attributed to the deployment of technology and encouraged the Leadership of the Ministry to embrace this change.

The SSA IT also appreciated the good initiative taken by the Lands consultant to commence the Electronic Document Management System and encourage them to ensure timely completion.

In his closing remarks, the Honorable Commissioner appreciated the commitment of all participants and believed the communique and next actions as agreed in the retreat would be implemented.