Caroline Ameh
Developers at the 15th edition of the Abuja International Housing Show has called for a review of the Land Use ACT to enable them have access to land for development.
According to some of the developers who spoke to our reporter, the Land Use ACT is overdue and it needs to be urgently reviewed to meet up with current global trends.
They noted that the Act which gives the sole right to the government makes it a cumbersome and daunting process to acquire land which is one of the major infrastructure in housing development.
“For Nigeria to achieve its aim of closing up the housing deficit, land most be make accessible”.
“Securing title to land is still very difficult, compensation provisions need to be reviewed, formal land registration is not in the interest of the poor, land is not available at an affordable rate, land speculators are still active in Nigerian land markets”, they added.
They equally pointed out that, policymakers, especially the National Assembly should review the act to enable it meet up with current realities. “We cannot be operating with the decree enacted by the military regime when we are now operating a democratic system”.
The Nigerian Land Use Act 1978 is the principal legislation that regulates contemporary land tenure in Nigeria; the law appeared to nationalize land by placing it in the hands of the government as a custodian, to hold in trust and administer for the use and common benefit of all Nigerians.
