By YINKA KOLAWOLE

The federal government will take every necessary step that will enhance the ease of registration of property in the country.

President Goodluck Jonathan stated this when he received the 2012 annual report of the Presidential Technical Committee on Land Reform (PTCLR) in Abuja. He lamented the World Bank’s low ranking of Nigeria on the ease of property registration. Nigeria was ranked 180 out 183 countries on the difficulty of registering land/property in 2011, and in 2013 ranked 182 out of 185 countries that were surveyed.

According to a statement by Mr. Fidel Agu, Head, Media/Publicity, PTCLR, Jonathan said government is set to establish a National Land Depository that will ensure that all lands in the country are properly documented. He declared that land reform is a major part of the transformation agenda of his administration, and called on state and local governments to support the land reform process. According to him, Nigerians are looking forward to a successful land transformation programme that will uplift them socially and economically.

Chairman of the Presidential committee, Prof. Peter Adeniyi, who that land is the basis for any meaningful national development, lamented lamented that most states of the federation had not issued up to 10,000 Certificates of Occupancy since 1978 when the Land Use Act was promulgated. “Any nation that provides access to land and guarantees title has provided sustainable platform for growth and development,” he said.

The statement added that Adeniyi told the president that the committee has submitted a new regulation that will guide the Systematic Land Titling and Registration (SLTR) as well as the implementation of the Land Use Act. He urged him to invite state governors to a high level stakeholder’s forum for deliberations that will ensure that there is a mutual understanding on the purpose of land reform, noting that their cooperation and support is important for the success of the land reform process.

He also advocated the establishment of a National Land Reform Commission to ensure an effective, efficient and sustainable platform for the prosecution of the national land reform agenda for the socio-economic and environmental transformation of Nigeria and also appealed for the re-presentation of the National Land Reform Commission Bill to the National Assembly for consideration and enactment.