E. O. THONTTEH & M. M. OMIRIN DEPARTMENT OF ESTATE MANAGEMENT LAND ADMINISTRATION REFORM IN LAGOS STATE PRESENTED AT THE 10TH UNILAG CONFERENCE AND FAIR, LAGOS, NIGERIA (24TH- 26TH NOVEMBER, 2015) BY E. O. THONTTEH & M. M. OMIRIN DEPARTMENT OF ESTATE MANAGEMENT FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS, NIGERIA

WHAT IS LAND REFORM? Land reform simply refers to the set of integrated measures designed to eliminate obstacles in order to improve or remedy the defects with respect to the rights in the use of land.

WHY LAND REFORM? It is also a necessary element to be considered in a developing market economy as it is the most effectively used and exchanged when the rights to land are registered

LAND REGISTRATION REFORM Land registration reform is a critical requirement to reduce the administrative burden to Lagos State government, stakeholders and ordinary citizens transacting on land. Where countries lack robust and tested land administration systems, significant dysfunctions can occur which includes:

LAND REGISTRATION REFORM CONTD….. weak land markets conflict over ownership social disharmony reduction in yield negative impacts on the environment lack of an essential policy tool that can assist governments in creating a civil society with democratic norms and reduced potential for economic growth.

LAND REGISTRATION REFORM CONTD….. As such, the overall effectiveness of any land administration system is directly dependent upon the extent to which land is registered.

STUDY AIM The rationale of the study is to assess reform of land titling and registration in Lagos State in order to identify the problems bedeviling land titling and registration in the study area

IMPORTANCE OF LAND REFORM Turn dead assets alive Eliminate Lending difficulty Eliminate Uncertainty about land documentation Eliminate tenure insecurity Reduce Delays in land documentation process

IMPORTANCE OF LAND REFORM Contd….. Eliminate Opaque official procedures Enhancement of property market Conversion from Manual nature of processing land titles and registration to Digital/On-line

JUSTIFICATION OF STUDY Land as a natural resource which supports all human economic, social, spiritual and other activities must be judiciously and efficiently managed in a sustainable manner for the use and good of all and for effective land governance and management Furthermore, formalization of land rights has been promoted as a pre-requisite for economic development such as security of land transaction, ease of acquisition of land title and ease of title registration as such the need for assessment of reform embarked upon by Lagos State.

Benefits of land registration The issue of land market development is more important today as many countries have reformed or are reforming their landed property systems to formalize private land ownership and the development of land market. The land registry is the key instrument to make effective such protection of a fundamental right and at the same time is essential for social and economic development

Benefits of land registration Moreover, the underlined benefits of land rights formalization according to Deininger and Binswanger (1994) and de Soto (2000) include increased tenure security, regulatory environment that promotes transfers to more efficient land uses and improved access to credit for sustainable development. Therefore, this study assessed the challenges of land registration within the framework of land administration system in Lagos State.

LAGOS LAND REFORM: ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (EDMS)

EDMS Contd Thеrе iѕ mоrе tо record management thаn storage оf documents bесаuѕе оf thе added benefit оf ensuring a smooth workflow. Thеrе аrе nо delays in procedures frоm retrieving оr sorting required documents. With a Document Management Software, processing iѕ dоnе in accordance with an organization work flow and specific operations Anоthеr great advantage оf a computerized system iѕ thаt аll documents аrе аvаilаblе fоr thе nеxt person online immediately thеrеbу increasing efficiency within thе organization.

METHODOLOGY LAGOS Study Location Sampling Technique Purposive study Document Reviews Questionnaire Personal experience Interview with land bureau officials Study Location LAGOS Sampling Technique Population= Registered firms of Estate Surveyors and Valuers and LAW FIRMS Systematic Sample Selection Factor analysis Mean Item Score ANALYSIS t-test

FINDINGS- Duration of Title Processing 1-30days 31-60days 61-90days 91-120days More than 120days How long does it take to process C of O 2.4 1.2 7.2 34.9 54.2 How long does it take to process Governor's consent - 6.5 3.3 43.5 46.7 How long does it take to process re-certification of C of O 20.0 30.0 2.2 47.8 How long does it take to process a deemed grant 29.2 4.5 64.0 In case of damage or loss how long does it take to re-process another C of O 3.2 21.5 25.8 46.2

Rotated Component Matrix CHALLENGES Component 1 2 3 Lack of institutional framework 0.907   Lack of legal backing 0.898 Lack of supportive policy 0.862 Over reliance on manual method 0.845 Inadequate use of information and computer technology 0.738 0.424 Political instability -0.725 Tenure encumbrances -0.594 0.520 Lack of transparency of directorate of lands bureau 0.583 0.502 Financial incapacity of prospective applicant -0.581 Ambiguous legal framework 0.920 High land charges 0.919 High cost of registration 0.866 People's unwillingness to register/process inheritance 0.800 Inadequacy of technical skills/competent staff 0.443 0.829 High land taxes 0.734 Complexity of modern methods 0.569 0.582 Lack of incorporating land professionals into the process as partners 0.425 0.577

CONCLUSION &RECOMMENDATION This study has identified certain key features of the current land registration system which addresses the effectiveness of EDMS in land registration. On the average, the purpose of EDMS in land registration has been achieved as improved security of tenure, improved public confidence in transaction, centralized and consolidate file storage, availability of on-line document search and retrieval system at the registry, reduction in waiting time for obtaining information on land matters and improved managerial efficiency was identified as its strength.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION CONTD.. However, it has not aided land dispute reduction and increased number of applications processed. Furthermore, three critical components were identified as problems of land registration this include lack of institutional framework, high land charges and high cost of registration and inadequacy of technical skills/competent staff.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION CONTD.. This study therefore recommends an all encompassing technique of land registration which will increase government revenue in area of land tax, systematically increase registered title, reduction in land charges/cost as well as reduction in dispute resolution.

Thank you

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