The Presidential Technical Committee on Land Reform (PTCLR) has said that fundamental overhaul of the current system of land ownership is critical to the realisation of issues of infrastructure development and good governance.
Peter Adeniyi, the Chairman of PTCLR, said this in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the National Stakeholders’ Dialogue on Land Reform.
He said the critical issues of governance, agriculture, housing; infrastructure development as well as urban and rural planning could only be achieved with reform in the land sector.
Adeniyi said the call for the reform of the sector followed findings by the committee after local and global consultations at the commencement of its assignment.
According to him, the Committee’s findings indicate that not more than three per cent of the nation’s land has been properly surveyed and registered.
“Land Administration is largely opaque and centralised, information on land parcel, record of owners, means of identifying the parcel and owners are not available,” he said.
The Committee Chairman said the findings also showed an absence of Land Use Allocation Committee (LUAC) and Land Allocation Advisory Committee (LAAC) in most states and Local Government Areas in the country.
He said absence of regulations to guide the effective implementation of the Land Use Act and non-existence of a national institution to assist in the regulation of the Act were found.
Adeniyi said the Committee had focused on the introduction, design and pilot implementation of Systematic Land Titling and Regulation (SLTR) as a means of fast-tracking mass land titling and registration.
He said the development of cadastral and geo-referencing infrastructure, preparation of Draft Land Use Act Regulations and preparation for draft bill for the establishment of National Land Commission were other focus of the committee.
He said the goal of the dialogue was to assess what has been done, identify existing and potential challenges and proffer realistic and pragmatic solutions.
Adeniyi said the dialogue was also to raise public awareness of the rational and benefits of national land reform and to ensure clear understanding of stakeholders’ role and responsibilities
