Nigeria has expressed its commitment to scale up efforts towards improving land titling, documentation and registration across the country up to 50 percent in the next 10 years.
The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Dangiwa, stated this in Lagos during the Nigeria Land Titling, Registration and Documentation Programme (NLTRDP) organised by the Lagos State Office of Electronic Geographic Information System (e-GIS) and Urban Development in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.
He said the plan was part of efforts put in place by the administration of President Bola Tinubu to unlock the economic potentials of land in Nigeria.
The Minister mentioned that the initiative is aimed at modernising land administration and making land a viable asset for wealth creation, house delivery and inclusive growth, noting that states will retain full control over land administration.
“Over 97 per cent of land in Nigeria is not formally titled, limiting its use as collateral for loans and its value in property transactions.
With this initiative, all other states can now commence digitisation of land registries, integrate geographic information systems and adopt global best practices which have already been implemented in Lagos State,” Minister said
Renewed Hope
The Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu commended the Federal Government for the Renewed Hope Agenda initiative to unlock the enormous economic opportunities of land.
The Governor stressed that electronic land documentation is the only way forward to reduce physical interference and build a future where land rights are secured.
According to him “Clear land ownership goes far beyond documentation. It is also about security, opportunity, and ultimately, peace of mind. Every Lagosian should have that assurance.
Real progress comes when we work together and follow through, and today is a testament to that.”
House numbering
Governor Sanwo-Olu also mentioned the new initiative by his administration which is the digital house numbering system.
He said the project is aimed at providing a unique digital identity to every property, enhancing navigation, service delivery, and overall urban management.
“Lagos digital house numbering system is a novel idea. It is about technology, and that is one of the things that we are trying to achieve: using technology as a strong enabler to be able to resolve all our land issues, where from the comfort of your house you can access and resolve land title issues.”
He assured the Federal government an the residents of more intuitive ideas than will improve land administration in Lagos State.
Lateefah Ibrahim