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Vice President Kashim Shettima has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to establishing a sustainable land administration system in Nigeria.
Speaking at the National Land Conference 2025 in Abuja on Wednesday, Shettima, represented by Sen. Ibrahim Hadejia, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, emphasized the urgent need to reform Nigeria’s Land Use Act of 1978 to align with modern socio-economic realities.
The conference, themed “Reforming Land Governance for Sustainable Development in Nigeria,” was organized by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in collaboration with the Johnbull Amayaevbo Foundation.
Shettima acknowledged that while the Land Use Act has played a pivotal role in land administration, it has also created systemic challenges requiring urgent reforms. He stated that the current administration had inaugurated four reform task teams in January 2024 to develop a strategic blueprint for streamlining land access and administration.
He further revealed that the government was actively working towards establishing a National Land Commission, with an executive bill already drafted for presentation to the National Assembly.
Prof. Ayo Omotayo, Director-General of NIPSS, highlighted the importance of the conference in assessing Nigeria’s land governance framework and proposing innovative solutions. He stressed that effective land reforms were crucial to achieving the Renewed Hope Agenda of the current administration.
Johnbull Amayaevbo, President and Founder of the Johnbull Amayaevbo Foundation, noted that despite Nigeria’s vast land resources, governance remained hindered by outdated policies, administrative bottlenecks, and low property registration rates.
He cited World Bank data ranking Nigeria 169th out of 190 countries in property registration and the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) report on Nigeria losing 350,000 hectares of forest annually due to poor land management.
Key proposals from the conference include:
Establishment of an Office of the Valuer-General
Modernization of land administration laws
Enhancing land tenure security
Adoption of sustainable land management practices
Amayaevbo emphasized that land governance reforms must be bold, practical, and inclusive to drive Nigeria’s sustainable development.
He also announced that the conference would become an annual event to track progress and refine policy recommendations.
