THE REGIME FOR MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF LAND UNDER THE LAND USE ACT: A CRITIQUE

Abstract

Land is important to the development of the society and poor land management and administration regimes impede
economic development and social welfare. It is on the above premise and consideration that every nation of the world
ought, in the interest of its citizens, take its land use and management very seriously and never allow it to fall in
disarray. It is the importance of land to the society and the need to fashion efficient and effective management and
administration regimes that predominantly influenced the State intrusion into property legislation so as to ensure
adequate and efficient land management technique for the benefit of the majority of the members of the society. The
promulgation of the Land Use Act was borne out of the necessity to generally, achieve an efficient land use and
management regime as highlighted above, and more specifically, to harmonize the land tenure system in the country
and address the problem of land speculation as well as the difficulty in obtaining land for business and developmental
purposes. The Land Use Act contains an elaborate provision for the management and administration of land in
Nigeria. It is however doubtful if the said provisions are properly armed to achieve an effective land management and
administration regime in Nigeria in view of the practical implication of the general administration of the Act as
have been witnessed over the years. It is in view of the foregoing background that this study undertook a critical
examination of the regime for management and administration of land under the Land Use Act. The work found
that the regime for management and administration of land under the Land Use Act is inadequate and made
recommendations for the amendment of the Act to improve same.