By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa has issued a bold call for state governments to dedicate between 1 and 3 percent of their annual budgets to land administration and systematic land titling, declaring that credible land governance is the country’s strongest lever for building a trillion-dollar economy.
This was according to a statement signed and issued by Directors Press and Public Relations Badamasi S. Haiba.
Dangiwa made the call in Kano, in a keynote address at the opening of the 30th Conference of Directors of Lands in the Federal and States Ministries, Departments and Agencies, yesterday.
” I strongly recommend and charge that Nigerian State Governments ring-fence between 1 and 3 percent of their annual budgets for land administration and systematic titling during the reform and scaling phase” he stated
The theme for the 30th Conference is; ‘Nigeria Land Titling, Registration and Documentation Programme (NLTRDP): Implementation Mission’.
Dangiwa explained that International evidence showed very clearly that Ministries responsible for land administration around the world operate about one percent of the total public budget.
He said ” based on these global benchmarks and our own national realities … a sustainable allocation of 0.5 to 1 percent will be sufficient to maintain digital registries, continue systematic documentation, and keep the cadastre up to date”.
The minister further stated that, half of the allocation must go directly to real service delivery- systematic titling, digitisation, modern registries, surveys and dispute-resolution-not vehicles, furniture or overheads.
” If we spend on impact, not overheads, every State will unlock revenue, citizens will gain secure property rights, and land will become a true economic asset, not dead capital.“
