Transcript 7th FIG

XXIV FIG INTERNATIONAL
CONFERENCE, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA ,
APRIL 11 – 16, 2010
THEME:
FACING THE CHALLENGE –
BUILDING THE CAPACITY
IDENTIFYING APPROPRIATE TOOLS
FOR LAND GOVERNANCE IN
NIGERIA
PRESENTED
BY
Andrus Nnaemeka Ukaejiofo, FNIVS
NIGERIA
ANDRUS NNAEMEKA UKAEJIOFO,
FNIVS, FCAI, RSV
,
COORDINATOR
Federal Land Information System (FELIS)
&
National Technical Development Forum
On Land Administration (NTDF)
FELLOW, Nigerian Institution Of Estate Surveyors And Valuers,
FELLOW, Chartered Institute of Administrators (FCAI)
MEMBER, Research and Development Team, NIESV Learning Centre
Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers
MEMBER, Geographic Information Society of Nigeria (GEOSON)
MEMBER, Computer Society of Nigeria (NCS)
DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND HOUSING
Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development
[email protected], [email protected]
INTRODUCTION
LAND:
It is a source of livelihood, employment and wealth;
It is the foundation for shelter in urban areas and a
base for agricultural production in the rural areas;
Land has historical, cultural, social, economic and
spiritual significance in Nigeria
It is indestructible, inexhaustible yet inelastic
It is also a major source of communal and individual
conflict
INTRODUCTION – II
There is one National Land Law but individual State
governments make orders for effective implementation
of the law for the use of land within their jurisdiction
and under their control
 Uniform and centrally coordinated approach to land
administration across the country is being pursued;
Customary and statutory land administration practices
vary between States
Effort is however being made to entrench harmonised
and sustainable property rights regime within the
country
OVERVIEW OF LAND GOVERNANCE
Land governance is concerned with access to land,
its use and satisfaction of competing interests;
Its aim is essentially political and social stability,
transparency in the processes and procedures as well
as time-sensitive actions;
 Its effectiveness depends on the priorities of
government because there are components of
technical, social, political and human rights issues
involved in land governance;
LAND GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA
Aims at providing a reliable basis for:
 Recording ownership or “holdership”,
 Determining value and use of land,
 Making access to land records easier;
 Introducing transparency in the land administration
processes;
 Addressing time cost of acquiring the land including
titling;
 Providing guiding rules
structure for administration;
and
institutional
LAND GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA I
i.
COUNTRY STATISTICS
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36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja
Land area is approx. 923,768 sq km
Population is approximately 140m by 2006 census
Population accounts for 47% of that of West Africa
Growth rate is 2.4% per annum
Rich in petroleum reserve – about 95% of foreign
exchange earnings
70% - 80% of land lie in rural areas with intensive
agricultural practices
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LAND GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA II
ii
BANE OF LAND ADMINISTRATION

Increasing urban population with slow infrastructural
development
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Increasing number of unplanned settlements

Absence of inventory of occupancy statistics of informal
settlements

Near absence of formal documentation of land
transactions

Low land titling infrastructure. About 3% of land in the
country is mapped for cadastral purposes and titled

There are increasing transactions in land on commercial
basis, demanding marketable title to every piece of land
LAND GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA III
iii BASIS FOR LAND REFORM

Right to land has become an obvious factor for
sustainable livelihood;
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Assured property right is also a cornerstone for national,
social and economic stability;
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Land market also contributes to the country’s GDP;
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There is a growing need for the development of
appropriate land rights infrastructure;
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Citizens can no longer cope with poverty in the midst of
plenty;
HISTORY OF LAND ADMINISTRATION IN NIGERIA
i TRADITIONAL LAND SYSTEM
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Land was owned by individuals, families or communities;
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Authority to manage was vested in the family head, chief
or emir;
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In the northern part of the country land belonging to the
community was inalienable under the Customary law;

The right to inherit land was the major form of social
security although women were excluded in some customs;
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However where Islamic law operates women have
opportunity to inherit land;
HISTORY OF LAND ADMINISTRATION IN NIGERIA
II LAND ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE COLONIAL
GOVERNMENT
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Land registration was introduced in Nigeria in 1863;
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Land and Native Rights Proclamation Law was introduced in
the Southern and Northern Protectorates in 1900 and 1901
respectively and paved the way for the introduction of the
British Land Tenure System;

The Crown Lands Act (later known as State Lands Act)
formalised land administration in the Southern parts of
Nigeria (but it did not cover freehold lands)

Land in the Northern part was nationalised by the Land and
Native Rights Act of 1910 which vested the management of
all native lands and all rights in land in the Government
HISTORY OF LAND ADMINISTRATION IN NIGERIA
III
LAND ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT

Land and Native Rights Proclamation Law for the then
Northern Region was reaffirmed in 1914
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Repealed and re-enacted as Land and Native Rights
Ordinance in 1961 and replaced as land Tenure Law of 1962

It applied to all lands in the Northern Region, referred to as
“Native Lands”
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Freehold land was permissible in the Southern Region while
only leasehold was permissible in the Northern Region
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Traditional Land Right system was essentially extinguished in
the North in preference to statutory leasehold;
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A single Land Registration Law – Title Registration Act –
however applied across the country;
THE LAND REFORM PROJECT
LAND USE ACT Cap L.5 2004 (DECREE 6, 1978)
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Introduced in 1978 to harmonise and unify land tenure systems in the
country;

Intended to improve access to land for every citizen in any States;

Intended to ensure easier access to land for Government projects;

Reduce cost of compensation by the use of “Police Power” for land
acquisition;
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Eliminate gender inequality in land ownership
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However its implementation has not been very successful because the
provisions are not fully understood even by land administrators;
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The focus of the reform has been the land laws while little attention was
paid to the process of allocation, use and administration
THE SEARCH FOR SUSTAINABLE APPROACH
The present government included Land Reform as part of its Agenda because it
recognised that land is a major factor in its national development:

Land undoubtedly is key to the socio-economic development of any nation;

Land reform in Nigeria is required to strengthen the economic and
productive potential of land by reviewing the laws as well as strengthening
the institutional structure for its administration;

It also desires to ensure effective, secure and uniform land titling system;

While individual States initiated various programmes as part of the
reforms process the Federal Government introduced programmes that
sought to harmonise and unify the reform focus;

The programmes include the National Technical Development Forum on
Land Administration (NTDF), effort to develop standards for the
introduction of modern technology, law review and international
collaboration among others;
RECENT REFORM PROGRAMMES
NTDF
o This programme introduced in 2006 serves as a peer-review and influence programme
for advocacy, sensitization and adoption of best practices across the country;
o All agencies of government at State and Federal levels are involved - represented by
Directors of Lands, Deeds Registrars and State Surveyors-General;
o It works to:
 agree on uniform operation in land administration,
 agree on consistent data recording format,
generate process descriptions that will facilitate the development of technical manuals
for land administration activities,
 agree on software standards to ensure future interoperability,
 prevent unnecessary duplication of efforts where resources/facilities could be shared,
 promote cordial relationship among States and instill a sense of common purpose,
o It has worked to adopt standard procedures that will harmonise land administration
and registration processes;
oIt is also working to ensure common standards for the application of modern
technology in land administration;
RECENT REFORM PROGRAMMES II
Federal Land Information System (FELIS) and other programmes :
o FELIS is a Federal project for the computerisation of Federal Government Land
records nationwide;
o It was introduced in 2004 and commissioned in 2006;
o Many States have since received
computerisation programmes;
encouragement
to
initiate
their
o By some coincidence some of the States namely Plateau, Kwara, Kaduna,
Benue are adopting the FELIS approach;
oThe ultimate benefit is that the similarity in the systems will make the
establishment of the National Land Depository as the apex land records hub
easier;
oOn law review, recommendations have been made to the National Assembly
essentially to review the consent clause, which is arguably perceived to be an
impediment;
o We have existing technical collaboration with Her Majesty’s Land Registry of
United Kingdom for technical support which has been coming through DFID and
Security, Justice and Growth Programme (SJG);
THE PRESIDENTIAL TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
ON LAND REFORM
o The Committee has a Presidential mandate to:
 Collaborate with States to provide technical assistance to produce land
cadastral inventory for the country;
Determine individual possessory rights using best practices;
To ensure that land titles issued in the course of its work are duly registered;
Assist States and Local Governments to establish arbitration mechanism for
land ownership and conflict resolution
Establish and maintain a National Depository for land titles;
Establish a mechanism for land valuation in both urban and rural areas
o The Committee has set to work and is hoping to prepare a comprehensive
inventory of land holdings in all parts of the country by preparing a cadastral
map of Nigeria;
o There are plans to engage and train technical assistants to help with the
project;
o It is also working on institutional re-orientation in all States of the Federation
– sensitisation programmes are being planned;
o It will start with pilot projects in select states;
CONCLUSION
o Remarkable impact in land governance in Nigeria is yet to happen;
oNTDF has however been found very useful as an integrating factor and a peer
review project;
oIt has helped to establish standards;
oIt has also been acclaimed to sensitise land administration operators to
improve their traditional approach to land administration;
oStates are now able to generate statistics of achievements within a specified
time period;
o The programme of modernisation and computerisation have introduced
transparent approaches to land governance;
oThe programme of the Land Reform Committee is expected to introduce a
much improved approach to land governance.
THANK YOU
FOR
YOUR
ATTENTION