Over 90% of lands in Nigeria unregistered, says minister

Ahmed Dangiwa, minister of housing and urban development, says over 90 percent of lands in Nigeria are unregistered.

Dangiwa spoke on Tuesday at the national land registration and documentation programme (NLRDP), a workshop organised by his ministry.

According to NAN, the minister said the longstanding land registration challenges have resulted in over $300 billion loss.

He said since the inception of formal land registration in Nigeria in 1883, the processes have been conducted under a non-compulsory sporadic system.

“This process was slow, cumbersome, opaque and expensive for the average landowner,” Dangiwa said.

“It is not surprising that less than 10 percent of the entire land in the country was registered in 140 years.”

Dangiwa further said the situation has made it impossible for landowners to leverage their assets for economic purposes.

“Nigeria has faced longstanding challenges in land governance including: lack of a systematic, credible, and uncontested framework to identify property ownership, interests, and locations,” he added.

“The cumbersome and inefficient property registration process has resulted in less than 10 percent of land in Nigeria being registered under the current sporadic system.

“Other challenges include the absence of authoritative data to support effective land administration, limited access to available land records, the existence of the Land Use Act of 1978 (now Cap 2004).

“This was without the necessary regulations to facilitate its implementation.”

‘INADEQUATE DATA, ABSENCE OF NATIONAL INSTITUTION MAJOR CHALLENGES’

Dangiwa underscored the absence of a national institution to advise the Council of State, which was empowered to make regulations for the Act, as a major challenge.

He said inadequate data and information for effective land valuation in both urban and rural areas is also another bottleneck.

The minister said addressing the issue is not just about administrative efficiency but a critical step towards economic transformation.

According to Dangiwa, the workshop was a significant step in the current administration’s efforts to implement long-overdue reforms essential to unlocking the immense potential of Nigeria’s landed assets for economic growth, wealth creation, poverty reduction, capital accumulation, and national development.

This, he said, could be through the national land registration, documentation, and titling programme.

He said the ministry plans to develop and inaugurate a national digital land information system (NDLIS) to modernise land administration.

The system, he said, will also centralise and digitise land records, reducing bureaucracy and corruption in land transactions.

Dangiwa added that the ministry seeks to increase the formalisation of land transactions from less than 10 percent to over 50 percent in the next 10 years, stressing its commitment to expanding the formal economy, enhancing the capacity to track and regulate land markets, and improving access to credit for citizens and businesses.

Aminu Tambuwal, chairman of the senate committee on lands, housing, and urban development, said land is one of the most critical assets of any nation.

According to Tambuwal, Nigeria continues to face persistent hurdles in land administration and accreditation, including bureaucratic inefficiencies, lack of transparency, and recurring disputes.

On his part, Ademorin Kuye, chairman of the house committee on public assets, said Nigeria’s land assets are unaccounted for, noting that the economic implication is that undocumented land could not serve as collateral for loans and investment.

”Poorly governed land leads to illegal encroachment, deforestation, unsustainable agricultural practices,” Kuye said.

“The legal challenges are the ambiguities in land titles which force endless litigation, draining resources, and undermining trust in our judicial system.”

Also speaking, Ndiamé Diop, the World Bank’s country director, who was represented by Michael Ilesanmi, said the programme aligned with the vision of the World Bank to eradicate poverty and unlock the nation’s potential at national and sub-national levels for investors.