Land Use Act due for review after 48 years -Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima has said that the federal government is working to establish a sustainable land administration system in the country as the Land Use Act being used in the past 48 years ago was undeniably due for review. He said this on Wednesday in Abuja at a three-day National Land Conference with the […]

Vice President Kashim Shettima has said that the federal government is working to establish a sustainable land administration system in the country as the Land Use Act being used in the past 48 years ago was undeniably due for review.

He said this on Wednesday in Abuja at a three-day National Land Conference with the theme: ‘Reforming land governance for sustainable development in Nigeria’, organised by National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) and Johnbull Amayaevbo Foundation.

Senator Shettima, represented by the deputy chief of staff to the president, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, noted that the Land Use Act of 1978 had been the legal and policy framework for land ownership, management, and administration in Nigeria.

He said that though the Act has significantly shaped land administration and management in Nigeria, it has also contributed to systemic challenges that must now be addressed.

“However, the Act, now 48 years old, is undeniably due for review and reform. The time has therefore come for a thorough reassessment to identify necessary amendments and ensure its relevance in the evolving socio-economic landscape.

“Analysts have criticised the Land Use Act as an impediment to Nigeria’s socio-economic development, underscoring the need for comprehensive review to realign its policies with the goals of sustainable growth, equities and efficiency,” he said.

The vice president said that in line with that, the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inaugurated four reform task teams in January 2024 to develop a strategic blueprint for implementing reforms aimed at streamlining land administration and ensuring easy, cost-effective, and efficient access to land in Nigeria.

In his welcome remark, the Director-General of NIPSS, Prof. Ayo Omotayo, said the event was aimed at coming up with new ideas and making recommendations to the government.

“We are sitting here believing that in this three-day conference, we will be able to look back, reflect, and ask hard questions concerning land. For us at the National Institute, what matters to us is developing Nigeria to be what the founding fathers wanted it to be.

“Our motto is towards a better society. We want to fulfill one of our mandates, which is to research and reflect on matters of national interest,” Omotayo said.

The president and founder of Johnbull Amayaevbo Foundation, Mr Johnbull Amayaevbo, said the conference aimed to redefine land governance as a catalyst for Nigeria’s sustainable development.

He said that despite of Nigeria’s abundant land resources, land governance framework remained encumbered by outdated policies, inconsistent implementation, and administrative bottlenecks.

He noted that this had made Nigeria rank 169th out of 190 countries in registering property, according to the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index (2023).

He also said the conference would become an annual platform where experts, stakeholders, and policymakers would continue to engage, evaluate progress, and propose pragmatic solutions for land governance reform.