As a documentarian, I follow people, places, institutions and important events with passionate interest. It is for this reason, I have been focusing on the activities of Edo State Geographic Information Services (EdoGIS) since Dr.Tony Ikpasaja was appointed as its substantive managing director by Governor Monday Okpebholo.

Ikpasaja brings to the job vast experience including a working stint in the media. So, he knows the leverage that public sensitization can give to enlightening people on the mandate of EdoGIS.

Therefore, it is understandable why the engine room of his public relations department is fully activated for optimal performance under Dr. Tunde Egberemolen.

So far, this department has put out much information on the agency. But, there is still a lot to be done in the area of publicity in general because the more the repeated exposure of EdoGIS to the public, the greater the autosuggestion effect on it leading to compulsive addiction to painlessly collaborate with the agency.

In passing, I need to point out that EdoGIS strive to upscale the activities at Auchi and Uromi offices which to me are not significantly promoting the agency. Imagine, I have a friend living about 120 meters from the Auchi office of EdoGIS but he is not aware of its existence.

It is Important EdoGIS is known all over the 18 local government areas especially the rural places since the greatest number of houses are located there. My prayer is that Okpebholo will adequately fund EdoGIS to enable it have offices in all the 18 local government areas for better coverage.

Indeed, it is difficult for anyone to be in the Benin headquarters of EdoGIS and be effectively show strong operational presence across the state simultaneously. In checking land grabbers, speculators and fraudsters.

Take or leave it, the primary mandate of EdoGIS is to curb the excesses of land thieves.

My plea is that the public should cooperate with the agency to actualise this lofty objective by obtaining their Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) from the agency. It is unacceptable that only an infinitesimal population of property owners have registered with EdoGIS for their C of O. Yet without this vital document the state government does not legally consider you as a genuine property owner even though you possess community approval for the property or you inherited it 50 years ago.

It could be a property you developed on your own. Still, is not your legal property. You cannot use it as a surety or a collateral.

When you deliberately refuse to get a C of O you are like a man cohabiting with a woman who has say 10 lovely children for you.

There is no authoritative, binding legal tie between two of you. You will wake up one day and discovered she and the children are gone after a little quarrel.

Truly, many are the afflictions of property owners without C of O. See, scribbling THIS HOUSE IS NOT FOR SALE provides no relief because the house could still be sold under your bloodied nose. The caveat emptor notification is not a comprehensive protection from property grabbers or rogues. Only a C of O gives a safe, secure government cover.

All said, there is a qualifier here. To possess proper protection, your C of O must be authentic. If you purchased it from the market it is a fake one lacking statutory power. Only EdoGIS issues an original C of O and there is one C of O for a property.

When you have one you win all litigations on your property if they arise. Courts only admits as evidence authentic C of Os not fake ones. This is why land grabbers shy away from property with original C of O.

So, if only property developers go to EdoGIS recognised by the state government to issue C of O, land disputes will be minimal.

The allegation is true that EdoGIS is campaigning vigorously for property owners to come for their C of O in a bid to make money for government. Well, is there a provision for free C of O in the law books? No. You must pay for one. What critics should advocate is for the government to reduce the price tag on the C of O.

Once this is done EdoGIS will comply. It is an obedient messenger on government errand, not a superintendent master as most people think.
Also, there is this accusation that all farmlands in Edo State have been sold out to estate agents and other land developers by EdoGIS attitude of recklessly issuing C of Os.

From investigations, this is not true. It is the ministry of physical planning that is charged strictly with layout plans of property including maps of residential buildings as well as farmlands. However, insiders tell me the ministry collaborates with the agency to ensure things are done properly.

Anyway, it is my humble submission that there is always enough available arable farmlands for private individual and commercial farming otherwise Okpebholo's agendum on food security is doomed.

I am still doing my checks on the allegation of diminishing farmlands in Edo State. While doing so I ran into this cheering news that as at April 15, 2025 out of over 10, 000 hectares of land available for farming in Benin-Owena Basin, only 500 hectares are being put to use.

About 9500 hectares are lying idle, wasting away. At this juncture, I need to point out that it is not enough to blame EdoGIS or the ministry of physical planning for our woes.

We contribute to them intentionally as individuals or community leaders by selling farmlands roads, government land and even moats with forged documents to unsuspecting buyers.

Go to Edo Broadcasting Service, Benin. You will see illegal properties erected on its premises. Yet EdoGIS is always announcing to the public to come for foolproof digital searches on of computers to find out if there are property encumbrances.

Oops, Okpebholo is no respecter of law breakers, nay land grabbers. All private property on the premises of the broadcasting station will soon be demolished!!

The losers are the property owners. They will learn the hard way that it is cheaper to go to EdoGIS for verification searches before you purchase land.

Charity, they, say, begins at home. On April 25, 2025 EdoGIS acting on behalf of government invited all property owners in the government's six estates to come for re-registration and proper documentation. Why? To find out if anyone of them has a fake papers.

At the end of the day the exercise helped them to deepen their confidence that they are legal occupants in the estates. Nothing wrong in this. Does this not show EdoGIS is an unbiased agency in its operations? Thus, in addition to its legal audacity as well as the moral legitimacy to request the public to register their property in line with the extant laws of the state.

Currently, Dr. Tony Ikpasaja and his team at EdoGIS are facing a heavy backlash for enforcing the Land Use Charge critics see as an additional tax burden in this time of harsh economic realities. True talk.

But let the records be put straight. EdoGIS is not the formulator of the Land Use Charge Law. Checks reveal that it dates back to 2012. It underwent amendment in 2019 before it finally transformed into the Land Use Charge Law of 2023.

Simply put, all EdoGIS is doing is implementing and enforcing and administering the law the government of Okpebholo inherited. It is not in EdoGIS power to add or subtract from the law being no lawmakers.

Also, it is worthy of mention that other states in the country have the Land Use Charge Law which is merely a consolidation of property tax, ground rent and tenement rate earlier paid separately.

From the foregoing, it is obvious that criticizing EdoGIS for collecting the charge can never influence it to stop the charge or reduce its value. Only the assembly has the power to do so. So, people disgruntled with the charge should gird their loins and send a powerful lobbying team to the assembly to have the Land Use Charge Law amended to suit their economic palate.

Also, I plead with Dr. Ikpasaja and his hardworking, corporate team at EdoGIS to deploy freeborn ethical methodology in collecting the charge devoid of controversy while continuing its good work of eliminating land grabbers from Edo State.