From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Federal Government is making moves to convert the over $300 billion unregistered land in Nigeria into more economically viable assets.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and the World Bank Group have, therefore, resolved to work together towards addressing the 90 per cent undocumented dead capital tied up in land assets into a viable venture.
This was the outcome of a courtesy call on the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Architect Ahmed Musa Dangiwa by a delegation of the World Bank led by its Vice President (infrastructure), Guangzhe Chen in Abuja, today.
One of the areas of the collaboration is the National Land Registration and Titling Programme in partnership with the state governments.
In his remarks, Dangiwa stated that the step is very important to government as over 90 per cent of land in the country is unregistered and untitled which experts estimated at over $300 billion.
“Through this initiative that we plan to implement with the World Bank, we aim to, among other objectives, register, document and title all land parcels within five years; develop and launch a National Digital Land Information System (NDLIS) and define a framework that makes it accessible to all stakeholders; increase the formalisation of land transactions from less than 10 per cent to over 50 per cent in the next 10 years; and train and deploy technically competent land registration officers nationwide” he said.
The minister added that land registration and titling will open up sources of revenue for the states who can boost their income through ground rent, certificates of occupancy, and taxes accruing from increased investments in real estate.
Accordingly, he further said that such funds can be used to provide urban services in the states which can help minimise the effect of climate change across cities in Nigeria.
“We have examples from states who have implemented proper land registration systems using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Kaduna and Nasarawa are two good examples. These states have not only been able to significantly improve land registrations, but have also generated huge revenues in the process,”he observed
On the issue of urban livability, which he says is another area of common interest, Dangiwa noted: “Implementation of the approved National Urban Development Policy is a key priority of the administration of Mr. President. We have to create the necessary frameworks towards an effective, impactful and sustainable implementation towards improving the management of our urban areas and improving service delivery. The World Bank’s technical capacity in the area will be highly needed.
“The third focus area is the development of a framework towards addressing the systemic barriers along the housing value chain. Doing this will help us to enhance private, affordable housing investments,” he added.
The minister recalled the recent livability workshop held with commissioners of states with the largest concentration of urban areas, noting that the recommendations from the engagement are already being developed into an actionable plan in collaboration with the World Bank team.
Citing the recent flooding in Maiduguri which left more than 200,000 people displaced, the minister said the need to invest in urban resilience has become more evident in recent times following rapid climate change and the susceptibility of many Nigerian urban centres to its impact.
Earlier, the World Bank Vice President on Infrastructure, Guangzhe Chen, said the purpose of the visit was to identify areas of common interests which they can prioritise in their collaboration with the ministry.
He disclosed that the bank is open to supporting Nigeria on land administration, affordable housing, sustainable financing mechanisms, addressing the impact of climate change on the urban sector, and engaging in urban land management towards the attainment of livable cities, digitisation, among others
“We have developed some models and worked with some countries in West and Central Africa on urban livability and resilience, and these models can be reviewed and replicated in Nigeria,” he said.
He added that the World Bank is open to providing financing and technical support to the ministry to help the government achieve its housing and urban agenda.
Also in the delegation was the Country Director of the World Bank, Ndiame Diop, who gave the assurance that the priorities outlined will be looked at by both teams, finetuned, and developed into comprehensive programmes to drive the nation’s housing and urban agenda, including improving the mortgage ecosystem, implementing a structured land titling system, and offering urban planning technical support to help vulnerable cities in Nigeria mitigate challenges of flood and rising heat levels.
“The minister talked about affordable housing delivery, and it’s good to see that there is a functional system in the form of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), which can be supported for enhanced capacity. The issue of land registration which I find worrisome, is one area that requires urgent attention. Having 90 per cent of land unregistered can be an obstacle for development in the sector” Diop remarked.
In a statement, the Country Director of the bank also expressed his happiness that the minister is already discussing with state governments on the matter which he described as a key aspect towards achieving it, saying that states have to adopt the improved systems.
“We will see how we can also come in and help enrich those conversations, so that we can work together to help the country achieve increased land titling,” he assured
In his closing remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi, solicited support from the World Bank in the area of capacity building for the new staff of the ministry, given that the experienced and old staff were retiring from the service and needed replacement with capable hands.
