Real Estate Lawyers Association of Nigeria on Friday commended the determination of President Goodluck Jonathan on why the Land Use Act must be removed from the 1999 Constitution.
President Jonathan said this on July 8 in Abuja at a summit organised by the RockeFeller Foundation as part of its centenary celebration.
The theme was: ”Realizing the potential of Agriculture in Africa.”
RELAN, in a statement endorsed by its Vice-President (Operations), Adekunle Omotola, noted that the Federal Government’s commitment was in line with the view of his association during its first National Summit on Land Use Act in Abuja in 2009 and the recent one in Lagos on June 20, 2013.
Omotola observed: “RELAN was not unaware that to remove the Land Use Act, it must conform with Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
“We are also aware that the plenary session of the Senate and the House of Representatives are currently debating the report of Senator Ike Ekeremadu and Hon.Emeka Ihedioha-led Committees on the amendment of the constitution.
“We are gratified that for President Jonathan to have publicly declared that the Land Use Act will be removed, is a right step in the right direction.
“Indeed, President Goodluck Jonathan’s commitment is a continuation of the concrete step taken by his immediate predecessor in office, late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who forwarded a bill to the National Assembly for amendment of some sections of the Act in 2009.
“It is our view that a practical approach by the government to remove the Act is to ensure that the Act wears a human face and to be consistence with democratic norms and ideals.”
RELAN therefore urged “the Federal Government to liase with the National Assembly, the governors and the state Houses of Assembly with a view to facilitate the removal of the Land Use Act from the constitution, because by so doing the government must have achieved one of its aims to make Vision 2020 a reality.”
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