The Federal Authorities says it’s pushing for land registration, documentation and titling that can contain all land parcels within the nation to make sure environment friendly and economically viable land administration.
The Authorities reveals that the goal of the train which was mooted throughout former President Goodluck Jonathan’s time is to extend formalization of land transactions from lower than 10% to over 50% inside a decade.
Ahmed Dangiwa, the minister for housing and concrete improvement, who disclosed this at an actual property convention in Lagos on Thursday, defined additional that the rationale for this push is to stem additional development of useless capital within the nation estimated at $300billion.
Land possession in Nigeria is in two classes – formal and casual. In keeping with consultants, solely 10% of your entire land space in Nigeria is formalised, which means that such land areas are registered and documented with titles comparable to Certificates of Occupancy (C of O).
This certificates provides any piece of land that has it authorized recognition and safety. It additionally allows landowners to make use of their property for loans or investments, thereby fostering financial development.
Alternatively, casual land possession dominates, counting on customary preparations, verbal agreements, or inheritance with out authorized documentation which is why Andrew Nervin, former chief economist at PwC, mentioned that land tenure and possession in Nigeria is probably the most inflexible globally.
Whereas culturally entrenched and accessible, untitled land leaves homeowners weak to disputes, evictions and limits the financial utility of land. With out formal titles, such properties can’t be leveraged for monetary alternatives or authorities assist.
Dangiwa famous that the Land Use Act of 1978 is the overriding authorized instrument for land administration in Nigeria, however a lot of its provision is both outdated or unimaginable to implement throughout the present framework.
“We’re working to assessment the Act in collaboration with the Nationwide Meeting to make it related and complete to take care of current and rising points round entry to land and its administration,” the minister mentioned.
He recalled that, earlier this yr, the ministry instituted 4 Reforms Process Groups to assist present the framework for driving the implementation of the ministry’s plans. Considered one of them was the Land Reforms Process Group, headed by Ugochukwu Chime, a famend housing knowledgeable with many years of expertise within the sector.
“Leveraging the work achieved by the Presidential Technical Committee on Land Reforms (PTCLR), the duty group was charged with constructing a framework for efficient land administration in Nigeria, in addition to the proposed institution of the Nationwide Land Fee to operationalize the Act,” he mentioned.
Shehu Osidi, the managing director and chief govt of the federal mortgage of financial institution (FMBN), who additionally spoke at the actual property convention in Lagos, cited a 2019 PwC examine which says that about 75% of the nation’s estimated 42 million housing inventory falls beneath the United Nation’s standards for everlasting human occupation.
“As well as, the nation’s dismal document of untitled land implies that about $300 billion, roughly 60 p.c of nationwide GDP, is ‘useless capital’ because the homeowners can’t realise tangible earnings or utilise the belongings to enhance their financial standing,” he mentioned.
He recalled that the federal authorities, in September 2024, introduced a landmark partnership with the World Financial institution geared toward registering all land titles in Nigeria inside 5 years, including that the initiative, led by the ministry of housing seeks to handle the challenges posed by untitled land.
He defined that, “by formalizing land possession, the partnership goals to unlock huge financial potential, together with an estimated $300 billion in useless capital, making certain readability and safety in land possession whereas remodeling Nigeria’s land administration system.”
A key part of this partnership, he mentioned, entails collaborating with state governments to register, doc, and title all land parcels. This collaboration is designed to carry landowners, communities, and regional authorities into the formal land system, making certain inclusivity and widespread participation.
“By offering clear and safe land possession data, the initiative goals to unlock improvement alternatives, foster sustainable land use, and entice native and overseas funding. In November 2024, the ministry revealed plans to determine a Nationwide Land Digital System (NLDS), a contemporary digital registry that can facilitate the environment friendly and safe verification of land titles,” he said.