Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, has said that over 90 per cent of land in Nigeria remains unregistered, leading to an estimated $300 billion in economic losses due to challenges in land registration.
Speaking at the National Land Registration and Documentation Programme (NLRDP) Workshop in Abuja, Dangiwa highlighted the slow, cumbersome and costly nature of Nigeria’s land registration process, which had remained largely sporadic and non-compulsory since its inception in 1883.
He emphasised that without proper documentation, landowners cannot leverage their properties for economic opportunities, limiting access to credit and investment.
The lack of a systematic framework for land ownership, bureaucratic inefficiencies and outdated policies such as the Land Use Act of 1978 had further compounded the problem.
“This process was slow, cumbersome, opaque and expensive for the average landowner.
“It is not surprising that less than 10 per cent of the entire land in the country was registered in 140 years,’’ he said.
According to him, this has made it impossible for landowners to leverage their assets for economic purposes.
He said: “Nigeria has faced longstanding challenges in land governance, including: lack of a systematic, credible and uncontested framework to identify property ownership, interests and locations.
“The cumbersome and inefficient property registration process has resulted in less than 10 per cent of land in Nigeria being registered under the current sporadic system.
“Other challenges include the absence of authoritative data to support effective land administration, limited access to available land records, the existence of the Land Use Act of 1978 (now Cap 2004).”
To address the issues, he said the government planned to establish a National Digital Land Information System (NDLIS) to modernise, centralise and digitise land records, reducing bureaucracy and corruption. The goal is to increase formal land registration from below 10 per cent to over 50 per cent within the next decade.”
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Lands, Housing, and Urban Development, Aminu Tambuwal, reiterated the Senate’s commitment to legislative reforms that would improve land administration, enhance transparency, and provide sustainable funding.
Similarly, Chairman of the House Committee on Public Assets, Ademorin Kuye, noted that undocumented land could not serve as collateral for loans or investments, stifling economic growth.
He stressed that poor land governance had led to illegal encroachment, deforestation, and agricultural inefficiencies, while ambiguous land titles resulted in endless litigation and loss of investor confidence.
The World Bank’s Country Director, Dr Ndiamé Diop, through his representative, Dr Michael Ilesanmi, reaffirmed the bank’s support, stating that land registration reforms were crucial for poverty reduction and economic growth.
