A property management expert, Emman Wike has added his voice to the call for the review of the Land Use Act currently in use.
Wike who is first Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (INIESV), made the call in a chat with The Tide in Port Harcourt, Monday.
He noted that there is a need for the speedy return of the existing legislation on land administration in Nigeria especially in Rivers State.
Wike, observed that the Land Use which was promulgated in 1978 with the aim of advancing the nation’s socio-economic development has rather become an obstacle in the development of the sector.
He said, “rather than promote homeownership, the Act has evicted landowners from their properties and impoverished them,” and stated that most lands do not have registrable tittles which has contributed to the underdevelopment of both the owners and the state.
Furthermore, he explained that the non-issuance of Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), which is often required as collateral to obtain loans from the National Housing Fund, “has short-changed low income earners who are contributors to the fund.”
Additionally, he explained that due to the lack of registrable titles, individuals who own land are not able to utilise their land so as to create wealth, while the state loses its accruable ground rent, because most of the land is not covered by a registered title, it is therefore not known to the government that such lands do exist.
Wike also faulted the compensation clause in the Act, which leaves the owner a bare land with nothing in the event that the C of O of that land is revoked, adding that “for this same reason bare lands cannot be accepted as collateral to obtain loans from financial institutions.”
He therefore, called for the speedy removal of these obnoxious clauses and sections of the Act from the Nigerian constitution to ensure accelerated development of the sector.

Tonye Nria-Dappa