By Onyeanya Immaculata
The Katsina State Government has recovered landed properties valued at over ₦10 billion in Kaduna State and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), nearly 38 years after the state was created from the old Kaduna State.
The General Manager of the Katsina State Assets Management Agency, Dr. Lawal Aminu-Bala, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing journalists in Katsina.
He said the recovery followed a directive by Governor Dikko Radda to identify and reclaim all public assets that were encroached upon or converted to private use.
According to him, a recovery committee chaired by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Alhaji Abdulkadir Mamma-Nasir, was set up to implement the directive, using the 1987 gazette on the sharing of assets and liabilities between Kaduna and Katsina states as its legal basis.
Aminu-Bala said the exercise led to the recovery of 37 houses and plots located in Kaduna and Zaria that were originally allocated to Katsina State.
He added that several properties within Katsina State were also reclaimed after being found unlawfully occupied or converted to private use.
He noted that the committee worked closely with the Kaduna State Ministry of Lands and Survey to secure control of the affected properties.
In the FCT, Aminu-Bala disclosed that about 15 hectares of land belonging to Katsina State had been recovered, adding that steps were underway to demarcate and properly utilise the land.
He said the state government plans to recruit assets surveillance officers to protect public properties and appoint coordinators at local government and ward levels to ensure effective monitoring and management of recovered assets.
