Post insurgency recovery, urban renewal, BOSG opens “New Maiduguri layout ” vows, citizens, investors, to apply.

Post insurgency recovery, urban renewal, BOSG opens “New Maiduguri layout”, vows, citizens, investors, to apply

By Madu Mohammed, Maiduguri.

To fast tract post insurgency recovery and urban renewal efforts, the Borno state government through the Borno State Geographic Information Service (BOGIS) has announced five new layout tagged “New Maiduguri” for expansion of the City, introducing a digital land allocation system designed to end decades of bureaucratic delays and corruption.

Addressing journalists at a press conference held at the BOGIS office, Maiduguri, the Executive Secretary of the Agency, Engr Adam Bababe said, the initiative marks a turning point for the state’s capital, as part of a 25-year development plan”.

The Executive Secretary said as part of the initiative, the government is building a 113-kilometer ring road to encircle the city of Maiduguri and environs, stressing that the first phase of this project spans 16.5 kilometers, opening up thousands of plots for housing, business, and recreation in communities like Njimtilo, Chabal, Tungushe, Lake Chad Research Institute, Dalori, and Molai silos.

Engr Bababe said one of the major significant change is that the system is automated, as you apply get approval and land allocation without human interface.

“The entire process starts and ends online. There is no human interface to eliminate corruption and favouritism”, he said.

Engineer Bababe said the digitization and automation of the process was aimed at providing, adding that for anybody to apply, he needs to have a National Identification Number (NIN), or any other means of identification, and minimum age of 21, and a N5,000 processing fee.

The digital portal is already seeing massive traffic. In its first 48 hours, the system recorded nearly 8,000 applications. Proving the efficiency of the new tech, nearly 130 approvals were granted in under a day – a process that used to take months or even years.

“The current system prevents cutting corners, time wasting, and the duplication of land titles. The Application is online without a human interface, to avoid bribery and fraud that often plague land registry offices.”, he further emphasized.

In order to accommodate the poor or not-so-educated citizens, Engr Bababe said, the new layouts are designed to be inclusive, offering plots at various price points to ensure the city’s expansion isn’t just for the wealthy, stressing that Prices range from N700,000 for high-density areas to 4 million Naira for low-density residential plots.

The Executive secretary further explained that to keep the process moving, the system is strictly programmed, if an applicant fails to complete their forms within a set timeframe, the portal automatically cancels the request to ensures that plots are not held by people who aren’t ready to pay and develop them.

To demonstrate the system’s speed, the BOGIS chief executive randomly approved an application during the press conference as journalists watched the process on a projected screen. The lucky  applicant, reached by phone, confirmed live that he had already received his digital approval and was ready to pay the