NIESV Seek Approval of Land Reforms Committee’s Proposals

The Federal Government has been asked to approve the Presidential Technical Committee on Land Reforms and Council of State proposals on land administration to bridge the housing gap.

The Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Values (NIESV) said this was imperative to tackle the housing challenge.

The institution said it would make a presentation on land administration and related matters to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola.

NIESV President Dr. Bolarinde Patunola-Ajayi, at a briefing, said the government had not addressed a major constraint – land administration despite the acute housing problem.

According to the institution, reviewing and enacting title registration laws are long overdue if any meaningful feat is to be achieved in bridging the over 17 million housing deficit in the country.

NIESV, it was gathered, in a proposal to Fashola, noted that the Land Use Act poses challenges to land administration and housing. The body of surveyors, therefore, appealed to the Minister to approve the regulation proposed by the Presidential Technical Committee on Land reforms and the National Council of State, which will make it easier for the titling and registering of land both in the urban and rural areas.

Similarly, Patunola-Ajayi said NIESV finds it rather regrettable the inaccurate inventory of public or government fixed assets across the country. This situation, he said, has made it impossible, to find a complete record of all Federal Government fixed assets in one location, especially in the lands department, which, ideally should be government’s repository of lands and other housing related records.

“Apart from the loss or damage of records sites, government has not consciously invested in inventory of its fixed assets and creating a reliable database from it. Not only will such exercise be money well spent, but it will also minimise the loss of government property. It will make portfolio management easier and critical decisions on rationalisation of non-core assets can be taken transparently,” Patunola-Ajayi said.

Source- thenationonlineng