Nigeria’s minister of Housing and Urban Development Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, has called on state governments to set aside 3 percent of their annual budgets for land administration and systematic land titling, saying the policy is expected to contribute an estimated $1trillion to the economy.
In a statement on Tuesday by the ministry’s Directors Press and Public Relations, Badamasi S. Haiba, the minister said in a key note address, at the 30th conference of directors of lands in the federal and states ministries, departments and agencies that:
” I strongly recommend and charge that Nigerian State Governments ring-fence between 1 and 3 percent of their annual budgets for land administration and systematic titling during the reform and scaling phase.”
The Minister added that a sustainable 0.5 to 1 percent allocation to land administration “will be sufficient to maintain digital registries, continue systematic documentation, and keep the cadastre up to date.”
He said.” If we spend on impact, not overheads, every State will unlock revenue, citizens will gain secure property rights, and land will become a true economic asset, not dead capital. And let me say this confidently: the success of the Land4Growth Programme is Nigeria’s surest bet to achieving the One Trillion Dollar Economy” he remarked
The Minister assured that under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, land administration will be treated not as routine bureaucracy but as a strategic economic reform, adding that government had begun to translate the commitment into concrete action.
” I have directed the Director Lands to make sure every Director has a copy of the Concept Note and Framework. embrace it and properly guide your State Governments to adopt it and work with us at the Federal level to implement it” Dangiwa said
” We are not yet where we want to be, but we are certainly not where we were last year. We are moving – and we are moving with purpose.We have within this period introduced the Nigeria Land Titling, Registration and Documentation Programme (Land4Growth) to unlock an estimated $300 billion in dead capital, and are finalizing a partnership with the World Bank and state governments to register, document, and title land nationwide” he concluded
Earlier in his opening remark, the Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Shaiub Belgore stated that the annual Conference of Directors of Lands has served as a key platform for professional exchange over the years
He said ” As we mark the 30th edition, it is important that this gathering does not remain a yearly talk shop. The true value of this conference will not be measured in speeches, communiqués or photographs, but in how the knowledge gained here is translated into practical reforms in your States”
Badamasi S. Haiba, Fsca
Directors Press and Public Relations
