The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Architect Ahmed Musa Dangiwa has disclosed the intention of the federal government to establish a National Land Commission to enhance land administration matters in Nigeria
He said the commission when established, would serve as a complementary institution that would provide the necessary framework, guidelines, and regulations operationalizing the Land Use Act of 1978 to achieve efficient land administration in Nigeria.
A statement issued by the Director of Information, Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Mallam Salisu Haiba Badamasi, in Abuja, stated that Dangiwa made the disclosure, during the just concluded 28th Conference of Directors of Land holding in Lagos.
The theme of the 28th Conference was: “Improving Land-Based Revenue of the Federating Units in Nigeria through Efficient and Effective Land Administration.”
Dangiwa also acknowledged that some of the challenges impeding efficient land administration in Nigeria were beyond the capacity of the Conference and Directors to resolve, pointing out that the most fundamental ones such as the Land Use Act 1978 would require legislative amendments and national government policy interventions.
“Currently we have a situation where the Land Use Act was enacted in 1978 but there was no complementary institution set up alongside it to provide the necessary framework, guidelines, and regulations for operationalizing it. We are working to establish a National Land Commission that would fix this gap and chart a new way forward for effective land administration in the country,” the minister noted.
According to him, the National Land Commission when established “will improve land titling and boost Nigeria’s ranking on the World Bank Ease of Doing Business where we currently rank 186th out of 190 countries on the World Ease of Doing Business index in terms of ease of registering properties, land reform strategy.”
The minister further stated that the second related reform is the adoption of the Model Mortgage Foreclosure Law nationwide.
He explained the Model Mortgage Foreclosure Law (MMFL) to be a housing industry stakeholder initiative and part of the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which is focused on establishing an enabling environment for investment in real estate and the growth of mortgages in a state.
Dangiwa, while describing the importance of land in revenue generation for the country, said over 300 billion naira in capital land assets can be generated as an investment into the coffers of Nigeria if the land is properly harnessed.
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