Jonathan poised to replace Land Use Act of 1978, receives draft

Determined to replace the Land Use Act of 1978, President Goodluck Jonathan has received a draft copy of new set of regulations that seek to replace the current ones.
The Chairman of the Presidential Technical Committee on Land Reform, Prof. Peter Olufemi Adeniyi, presented the report on Monday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Adeniyi told State House correspondents that some Continuously Operating Reference Station have been put in place by the committee for cadastral mapping, just as it also introduced systematic land titling and registration in the country.
According to him, the proposed new Land Use Act will cover designation of urban areas, issue of consent, contents of Certificates of Occupancy, revocation, interest, mortgage and sectional title.
Adeniyi spoke further on the designed modalities of titling and registering land that entails the crafting of a manual that people will use in the field: “We have done the regulations that have not been done since 1978 when Land Use Act was made.
“Everybody was complaining that the Act was bad here and there but they have forgotten that there is Section 46 (1) of it that says that Council of State should make regulations.”
The new regulations, he said “covers a lot of areas where we have problem with the Land Use Act.
“It covers the one we are trying to do, systematic land titling and registration, designation of urban areas, issue of consent, what should be in the Certificate of Occupancy, revocation, interest; but more importantly, mortgage.
“And another one that is happening everywhere in the world that is not happening here is sectional title.
“So, when you have multiple story buildings and people are buying only a flat there, you need a certificate on that.”
The chairman disclosed that the committee in conjunction with the Food and Agricultural Organisation selected a software based on the open source platform that is so flexible.
He said it that “can assist in registration and land administration in such a way that there will be less fraud,” adding that the software is very quick to use and can help trace the history of land.
He added: “We have been able to install four of that, two in the pilot area because we are carrying out new methods of registering land. The old one we are used to is sporadic, but we are introducing a systematic land titling and registration in the country.
“We have designed the manual that people will use in the field, thereby reducing lots of personal discretion. You have to go by rules and regulation.
“We are trying to establish registries in those areas where we are piloting now. We are putting some putting equipment there through the assistance of gems in order to go and start the registration.”
In February, Adeniyi had revealed that since formal land registration began in Nigeria in 1863, not more than 2.5 per cent of the land in the whole country has been registered.