The Federal Government has said the establishment of a National Land Commission would harness $300 billion revenue lost to ineffective land administration in Nigeria.
Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa, said this while declaring open a two-day 28th Conference of Directors of Lands in the Federal and State Ministries, Departments and Agencies in Lagos.
Dangiwa said a National Land Commission would provide the necessary framework, guidelines, and regulations to fix the gap and chart a new way forward for effective land administration in Nigeria.
“Currently, I think we have over $300 billion dead 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 as investments into the coffers of this country,” Dangiwa said.
He explained that the proposed National Land Commission was part of a broad 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 currently ranked 186 out of 190 countries.
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“Mr 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,” Dangiwa said.
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,” Sanwo-Olu said.
Director and Head, Lands and Housing Development Department in the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Mr Felix Appah, pointed out that land was a vital national asset.
Appah added that land had great economic potential for revenue generation, which entailed evolving processes that increased the speed and convenience of registering property transactions, geared towards 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 Lands in the Federal and State Ministries, Departments and Agencies in attendance.