The Federal Government has launched a new initiative called the Nigeria Land Titling, Registration and Documentation Programme, also known as Land4Growth, aimed at unlocking an estimated $300 billion in dead capital across the country.
The announcement was made in Kano by the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, during the 30th Conference of Directors of Lands in the Federal and State Ministries, Departments and Agencies. Dangiwa cautioned that bottlenecks around land ownership continue to create uncertainty for investors and place unnecessary hardship on citizens.
He explained that the government is finalising a major partnership with the World Bank and state governments to register, document, and title land nationwide. According to him, the success of the Land4Growth Programme is central to Nigeria’s ambition of building a One Trillion Dollar Economy. He said this requires deliberate steps to unlock revenue and strengthen property rights for citizens.
Dangiwa advised state governments to set aside a specific portion of their annual budgets to support land administration reforms. He said, “I strongly recommend and charge that Nigerian State Governments ring-fence between 1 and 3% of their annual budgets for land administration and systematic titling during the reform and scaling phase. 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.”
He also noted that Nigeria performed poorly in the last World Bank Doing Business ranking on registering property, pointing to excessive procedures, long timelines, and high costs as major challenges that need to be addressed.
The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development said the annual Conference of Directors of Lands offers a platform for stakeholders to share ideas and push for sectoral growth. The theme of this year’s conference is Nigeria Land Titling, Registration and Documentation Programme Implementation Mission.
