‘Land Use Act should be expunged from constitution’

The committee which submitted its report yesterday at the resumption of plenary wants the Act to be abrogated to allow for laws “which should and must vest ownership of land in the hands of those with customary right of ownership, subject to the rights of states to register titles and provide guidelines for land transactions […]

The committee which submitted its report yesterday at the resumption of plenary wants the Act to be abrogated to allow for laws “which should and must vest ownership of land in the hands of those with customary right of ownership, subject to the rights of states to register titles and provide guidelines for land transactions within their jurisdictions.”
The committee, which was chaired by retired General A. B. Mamman noted that part of the confusion created by the Act includes having a federal law which can only be implemented by states and local governments even though it cannot be modified by them to suit local realities, “resulting in lack of ownership of the processes and absence of drive for effective implementation.”
It adds that the “practical implication of the law is that though Nigeria is richly endowed with land and natural resources, the land resources have not been put to optimal economic advantage. Only about 3% of the 923, 768sq km of land in Nigeria is duly documented, titled and registered.”
It called for the establishment of a National Land Commission which objective shall include promoting harmony in land administration in states, creation and maintenance of a national land databank in collaboration with the states and to initiate investigations, on its own initiative or on a complaint, into present and historical injustices and recommend appropriate redress.
On compensation, the committee noted that if government must compulsorily acquire land for public purposes, adequate compensation and necessary resettlement must be made prior to entry of said land and that “if after 10 years of government entry, the land is not utilised for the said purpose, then the acquired land reverts to the original owners and the compensation…forfeited by government.”