By: Mukhtar Yahaya Shehu
Minister of Housing and Urban Development Arc. Ahmad Umar Dangiwa has called on all state’s Government to allocate 1-3 percent of their budget to land Administration System.
The Minister Arc Ahmad Umar Dangiwa made the call while declaring open the 30th conference of Directors of land in federal, states ministries, Department and Agencies in Kano state with the theme: Nigeria land Titling Registration and Documentation Programme (NLTRDP) implementation mission.
He said the theme Nigeria Land Titling, Registration and Documentation Programme (NLTRDP): Implementation Mission— reflects exactly what this administration seeks to do: shift from talking about land reform to working together, as Federal and State Governments, to fix land administration in Nigeria and unlock its vast economic power.
“As we begin these deliberations, let us reflect honestly on where we stand today. The Land Use Act of 1978 remains our foundational law, intended to harmonise land tenure and improve access. Yet, its rigidity, concentration of powers, and unresolved legal inconsistencies continue to slow access to land, land markets, and land-based investments.We must also confront the reality that less than 5% of land in Nigeria is formally registered. Millions of Nigerians still farm, build and transact on land with no title—land they cannot use as collateral, cannot easily transfer without dispute, and cannot grow into economic assets. Untitled land remains dead capital, and dead capital cannot grow our GDP.5. Our land system also hurts us globally. In the last World Bank Doing Business ranking on Registering Property, Nigeria performed poorly due to excessive procedures, long timelines, and high costs. The minister said.
According to Arc Ahmad Umar Dangiwa this creates uncertainty for investors and unnecessary hardship for citizens.Across the states, the challenges are identical: complex manual workflows, fragmented and outdated paper records, corruption risks, tenure insecurity for vulnerable groups, and very low revenue collection despite huge potential.
“This is the system that we have long known that we must change. We have talked about it, position papers have been written about it, action plans have been developed, initiatives have been started – but unfortunately we have not made much progress.It is true that we have seen some positive reform trends. Systematic Land Titling and Registration (SLTR) pilots in several states prove that when we title land community by community, using modern tools and simplified processes, we can achieve rapid, lower-cost documentation at scale. Beneficiaries in such areas have gained access to finance and invested further in their properties and businesses. Digitisation is also gaining some bit of momentum that we must commend and encourage to scale. Success stories such as AGIS in the FCT, KADGIS in Kaduna, KANGIS here in Kano, EDOGIS in Edo, NAGIS in Nasarawa, and emerging improvements in Lagos show that states which digitise records and streamline regulations boost revenue, attract investors, and restore public trust.” The minister added.
The Minister commended Kano state government in its effort for making state KANGIS into modern system.
“Here in Kano, I recently saw a report that monthly land revenue reportedly increased from ₦50 million to ₦750 million through the implementatio of these digitisation reforms. The direction is therefore clear: reform pays,” He said.
Arc Ahmad Umar Dangiwa further said this is why the Federal Ministry is advancing the Nigeria Land Titling, Registration and Documentation Programme (a.ka. Land4Growth) as the integrated backbone of national land reform.
“Our goal is straightforward: to work collaboratively with states to turn land from dead capital into secure, tradable, bankable assets that drive housing, agriculture, industry, infrastructure and internally generated revenue.Under the Land4Growth Programme, our focus is to work with State Governments and support them to:Standardise and harmonise land processes nationwide. Scale up systematic land titling and registration, especially in growth zones. Digitise registries and integrate GIS with planning, tax and finance systems. Strengthen legal and dispute-resolution frameworks that protect vulnerable groups.Unlock land-based finance to boost credit access for citizens and sustainable revenue for states.As Directors of Land we urge you to understand the concept of this Land4Growth programme, embrace it and properly guide your State Governments to adopt it and work with us at the Federal level to implement it. That is why we made it the theme of this year’s Conference. We need to move from talk to action and results,” The minister emphasized.
In his goodwill massage, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano state said the theme of the conference goes to the heart of national Development challenges across Nigeria effective land governance its now for economic diversity, infrastructure, healthcare delivery, security, education and long term Sustainability.
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf represented by the secretary to the state government Alhaji Umar Faruk said the Kano’s land administration is the system with many moving past and ease at the moment undergoing complete modernization.
“Since assumption of office, our administration made a delivery decision to over hold land administration system that have been weak for years manual process, weak records, poor Data, bad legacy of inconsistency and human sabotage that undermine public confidence,” The Governor Abba added.
The Governor described the conference as timely with the present administration policy on modern Land administration system.
“Today I can say confidently that Kano state is delivering most look, most important comprehensive technically driven land reform in the country. One of our key milestone is the reposition the state Geographic information system into modern enterprise level platform supporting full land administration life circle,” The Governor said.
In his speech, the chairman Senate House committee on Housing and Urban Development senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal represented by senator Habib Mustafa expressed legislative support for land administration reform and also expressed national assembly readiness to consider the recommendation delivered during the conference.
During the two day conference papers were presented by the Academia, legal practitioners as well as land administration experts.
