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NIGERIAN LAND USE ACT: IMPORT
AND CHALLENGES
BY
PROF.WAHAB EGBEWOLE
16TH JUNE,2014.
DELIVERED AT NIGERIAN ARMY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, SOBI, ILORIN
EABDULWAHAB@YAHOO.CO.UK 07031084046
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OUTLINE
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INTRODUCTION
EVOLUTION OF LAND OWNERSHIP IN NIGERIA
LAND USE ACT IN NIGERIA
OPERATIONS OF LAND USE ACT IN NIGERIA
CHALLENGES OF THE LAND USE ACT
CONCLUSION
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INTRODUCTION
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Land as a common heritage
Centrality of land to humanity
African concept of land ownership
Land as a function of wealth and well being in Nigeria
The doctrine of quid quid plantatur solo solo cedit
The commonwealth of family and personification of the
family head control
The struggle for control and the bitter contest over land
in Nigeria
Ownership and Possession of land dynamics
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EVOLUTION OF LAND OWNERSHIP IN NIGERIA
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Customary land tenure as the basis and operation
of ownership of land
Native Land Rights Ordinance in the North
Land Tenure Law of 1962-North
English Conveyancing Act for the South
Military and unitarization of land in Nigeria
Land Use Act to the rescue?
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LAND USE ACT
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Why Land Use Act? Ownership of land criticized on 3
main planks- i) No security of title ii) Difficulty of
acquiring land for private and public use and iii) Cost
of obtaining land for public use prohibitive
11 member Panel set up by the Federal Military
Government to: i) Study various land tenure, use and
conservation practices in Nigeria ii) Implication of
uniform land policy for Nigeria and examine its
feasibility iii) Examine future needs of government –
See Omotola, J.A. Essays on the Land Use Act, 1997
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LAND USE ACT (CONTD)
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Objectives of the Act are: To remove bitter
controversies associated with land ownership;
Streamline ownership and management of land in
Nigeria; Simplification of process of acquisition of
rights to land in Nigeria; Government to bring land use
and management under control.
Key Provisions of the Act includes: All lands in Nigeria
vested in the Governor
Urban and rural dichotomy
Statutory Right of Occupancy and Customary Right of
Occupancy
Governors powers on fixing rents, rates and penalty 6
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LAND USE ACT (CONTD)
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No transfer of title by way of assignment, mortgage,
pledge or gift without Governor’s consent
Power to revoke for public interest
Payment of compensation in case of acquisition or on
revocation
Nigerians left with only equitable rights
Governor’s power to control only? Concept of
federalism at play
The position of FCT
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OPERATIONS OF THE LAND USE ACT IN NIGERIA
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Constitutional clothing of Land Use Act and its
controversy of amendment
Imposition of the Act underscored by the Supreme
Court in Abioye V. Yakubu (2000) NLLC 18
Expropriation controversy- The Governor as
concurrent holder of occupancy and the argument
that the Governor to be in a position to use the land
must revoke and must be for overriding public
interest.
Land speculation minimized
Easy control of land in Nigeria with sort of certainty
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CHALLENGES OF THE LAND USE ACT
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Fraud and corruption in land administration
Disruption of existing traditional land ownership
Public interest equating private and selfish interest
Creating a new group of land speculators
Cost of land beyond the reach of average Nigerian
Governor’s consent and challenge of bureaucracy
Economic development hampered
Attitude and the discharge of statutory duty in a
democracy driven by federalism
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CHALLENGES OF LAND USE ACT (CONTD)
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Land Reform as epitomized by the LUA done without
recourse to the existing regime
Fundamental right to property rubbished
No buy-in for citizens
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CONCLUSION
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Its time for a review of the LUA
Rethink the constitutional toga
Democratization of land ownership within federalism
Process of acquisition to be simplified
Public interest to be properly defined
Advocacy on land speculation
Good governance and extermination of corrupt
tendencies on the part of leaders
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THANKS FOR LISTENING
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