FG to establish National Land Commission to unlock $300bn investments

The Federal Government has announced its plan to set up a National Land Commission to tap into $300 billion in revenue lost to ineffective land administration in Nigeria.

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Ahmed Dangiwa, made this known while opening a two-day 28th Conference of Directors of Lands in the Federal and State Ministries, Departments, and Agencies on Wednesday in Lagos.

Dangiwa said a National Land Commission would create the necessary framework, guidelines, and regulations to bridge the gap and pave a new way forward for effective land administration in Nigeria.

“Currently, I think we have over 300 billion dollars of idle capital in land assets that must be unlocked through effective land administration.

“But today, if we have a proper land administration, we are going to unlock nothing less than 300 billion dollars as investments into the treasury of this country,” he said.

He explained that the proposed National Land Commission was part of a wide housing sector reform, which would improve land titling and boost Nigeria’s ranking on the World Bank Ease of Doing Business rating.

He added that Nigeria is currently ranked 186 out of 190 countries. “The president has a bold vision for the sector and is committed to backing it up with the necessary political will to break down all barriers to unlock the revenue-earning potential of land.

“As the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, we have taken Mr. President’s vision and are running with it.

“Our aim is to implement the most historic land reforms the country has ever witnessed to make it easier, safer, and more profitable for the private sector to invest in the sector and make good returns,” he said.

According to him, a notable part of the country’s wide housing sector reforms includes the implementation of comprehensive land reforms aimed at streamlining land administration and ensuring easy, cost-effective, and efficient access to land.

“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 pave a new way forward for effective land administration in the country.

“This 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 in terms of ease of registering properties,” he said.

The Minister said another reform was the nationwide adoption of the Model Mortgage Foreclosure Law, a housing industry stakeholder initiative and part of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.

He praised the efforts of the Lagos State government in digitising its operations while also praising Kaduna and Kano states for implementing reforms and urging other states to emulate them.

“We must think outside the box, innovate, and learn to do things differently. That will help us make progress and change the narrative going forward,” he said.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos said his administration had provided over 3,000 homes, while efforts were still in progress to reduce the housing deficit of 17 million.

Sanwo-Olu, represented by his Special Adviser on Housing, Mrs. Barakat Odunuga-Bakare, called for the support of all stakeholders through compliance with existing laws for the sustainable housing sector.

“It is pertinent to address the housing gap in the state with credence to the burning national issues. The growing housing deficit in Nigeria has risen from seven million in 1991 to an estimated 28 million in 2023.

“Out of this figure, Lagos stood at a 17 million deficit, with an estimated 500,000 people migrating into Lagos annually. This calls for the provision of mass housing schemes by the state government as well as other supporting public infrastructure,” he said.

The Director and Head, Lands and Housing Development Department, in the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Felix Appah, emphasised that land was a crucial national asset.

Appah added that land had huge economic potential for revenue generation, which required developing processes that enhanced the speed and convenience of registering property transactions, aimed at greater efficiency.

The 2023 Conference, which had the theme “Improving Land-Based Revenue of the Federating Units in Nigeria through Efficient and Effective Land Administration,” had directors of land in the Federal and State Ministries, Departments, and Agencies as participants.