Federal Gov’t Partners World Bank On Land Digital System

Federal government plans to partner with the World Bank to modernise land administration in Nigeria by developing a National Land Digital System (NLDS) for the optimisation of land transactions for transparency, efficiency and accessibility.

The minister of housing and urban development, Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, disclosed this during the closing ceremony of the 13th meeting of the National Council on Housing, Lands and Urban Development in Gombe.

The council comprises states’ commissioners, permanent secretaries for housing, lands, urban development, general managers, chief executive officers of housing corporations, states surveyors-general, professionals and regulatory agencies in the housing and building industry.

According to him, the initiative will increase investors’ confidence and unlock untapped economic potentials related to land property.

Dangiwa said that the digital system will also solve the long-standing challenges currently faced in land registration as well as enhance property rights protection, with a goal of increasing formal land transactions from less than 10 per cent to over 50 percent within a decade.

“The pivotal decision will tackle the challenges obstructing effective and efficient land registration in the country. The system will serve as a comprehensive, accessible digital registry, enabling Nigerians to verify land ownership securely and efficiently.

“By enhancing transparency and reducing fraud, the NDLS will increase investor confidence and unlock up to $300 billion in untapped economic potentials related to land and property,” he stated.

The minister revealed that at present, over 90 per cent of the country’s land remains unregistered, representing an estimated $300 billion in untapped capital.