EFFECT OF THE LAND USE ACT IN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT
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EFFECT OF THE LAND USE ACT IN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT
CHAPITRE ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The Land Use Decree No. 6 of 1978, also known as the Land Use Act, was promulgated on March 29, 1978, the effective date of its implementation in Nigeria.
It is a statutory strategy or device utilised by the federal government prior to the promulgation to consolidate and harmonise the various tenures prevalent in the country. Its goal is to ensure the protection of all Nigerians’ rights so that they can provide for themselves and their families.
It ended the lengthy tradition of private land ownership in the south and instituted a consistent system of land tenure throughout the country.
Under this dispensation, one cannot hold an interest in land beyond the terms assigned to him by the statute (typically 99 years), and such interest is renewable upon expiration.
The act vests all land within each state’s boundaries (excluding land vested in the Federal Government for its agencies) solely in the hands of the state’s military governors, who would hold such land in trust for the people.
Finally, the adoption of this Act was motivated by two major factors: the diversity of customary laws on land tenure and the difficulty in applying the numerous customs of different peoples.
The second cause was the widespread practise of fraudulent land transactions in southern Nigeria. The same piece of land would be sold to multiple people at the same time, resulting in a slew of lawsuits.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Land, as the most universal, precious, and likely most contentious asset, the one and only base of all human activity, necessitates a structured system of holding, control, and regulation in order to avoid misuse and abuse of rights thereto.
According to Taslim O. Elias (a well-known jurist). “The indigenous system does not admit that land can ever be without an owner” Indeed, if land (Real property) were to be a “res nullius” (something belonging to no one),
it would be economically worthless, with no possibility of compulsory acquisition, purchase, revocation, and subsequent compensation. It would not be out of place to say that, in the absence of valid control and regulation, ownership of land may be based solely on an individual’s physical strength or ability to be aggressive.
Such a circumstance will almost certainly be anchoretic.
This investigation therefore unravelled the consequences of the Land Use Act, 1978 on prospective investors on real property (land), estate surveyors, private citizens, and so on, particularly in Enugu.
However, since its passage, the Land Use Act has been under intensive scrutiny, with nearly every aspect of it being criticised. The Act did not go down well with traditional Nigerians, owing to the variables of interest in communal land ownership, which included multiple dead ancestors, a small number of current members, and countless unborn generations.
Many of their forefathers and moms were killed while gaining the lands and were buried there. It is still forbidden to leave those lands unless their bodies and bones are excavated.
As a result, there are numerous incentives and circumstances that draw people to land ownership. Many of them are non-economic and so cannot be alleviated monetarily because land owners do not sell, alienate, or part with land as freely or easily as other commodities.
Professionally, land and its traits, features, and components represent value-in-encounter.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Certain questions may emerge from the preceding conversations, and they undoubtedly require responses. They are as follows:
1. Is the 1978 Land Use Decree (now the Land Use Act) fully implemented, with the exception of state governors abusing such powers?
2. What are the issues with the methodologies for valuing properties acquired compulsorily for compensation under the act?
3. What effect does the Act have on compensation?
4. What changes should be made to the parts of this Act dealing with compensation, revocation of rights of occupancy for overwhelming public interests, land allocation for agriculture, and grazing?
5. What is the best method for evaluating properties that must be purchased for compensation purposes under the Act?
6. What should be the acceptable technique for zoning land and buildings, as well as valuing properties acquired for compensation under the Act?
7. What impact has the Act had on the land and building price mechanisms?
1.3 OBJECTIVES AND GOALS
The following are the research objectives:
a) Determine whether the powers performed by state governors under the Land Use Act, as well as the broad scope of this Act, pose a threat to effective land use.
b) To identify potential issues with property development as a result of the Act.
c) Suggesting required changes to the revocation and compensation of rights of occupancy in parts of this Act in order to stimulate property development.
d) Proposing a suitable technique for valuing properties acquired compulsorily under the Act.
e) To recommend the appropriate expert capable of aiding the government with land sales and other land developments.
f) Making a suggestion to ensure adequate compensation for a revoked right of occupation.
Finally, means of expressing the realities of social, cultural, and economic norms posed by the Land Use Act to modern society are proposed.
1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This research investigated the functions of the Land Use Act in property development in Enugu City.
Due to the enormous ladn mass, four zones of Okpara Avenue, New Haven, Achara Layout, and Ogui Layout are sampled.
Property development is particularly pronounced in these four zones. Although lands within Enugu Urban are revoked by public entities for overriding public interest without specifying why. The study’s scope thus use the four zones to represent other regions in Enugu urban where property development occurs.
The government stole the rights of community landowners and property owners, lowering their occupancy rights to 99-year leases rather than allodia or absolute ownership.
1.5 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This study project was really timely, but it was also extremely educational. As a result, the researcher experienced limits during the course of this project, particularly financial constraints, which forced him to redistrict the investigation to specific locations.
Again, time constraints hampered this investigation as I divided my time between the project and other academic activities. Furthermore, the researcher’s responsibilities to the welfare of the Estate Management Association (EMA) IMT as president delayed this work slightly.
The Land Use Act’s requirements are just too extensive to be condensed into a few pages. Only section arrangements and provisions relevant to valuation and its implications are covered for the purposes of this study.
Despite the fact that time and money were constraints, the researcher was able to complete the work.
1.6 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The Land Use Act No. 6, 1978, with its eight (8) parts and fifty one (51) clauses, is the most important land policy currently in place in Nigeria. The report will help the government with its planning and property purchase procedures.
Most property developers are concerned about the compensation tedinque if a property is revoked by the governor for reasons of overriding public interest; thus, this study will aid developers in making sensible evaluations.
The findings of this study are being used by state surveyors and value coders. Work on their eventual forced acquisition valuation and their public advisory role. Students and professors in Estate Management Professional will value this work because it clarifies areas of contention in this statute.
Property developers will benefit geometrically from this input in Estate Management Professional because the recommendations adopted in this work will boost the compensation receivable by them in the case of revocation of their property rights by public entities.
1.7 THE RESEARCH STUDY’S FOUNDATION
This study is mainly focused on land use. Speculators, private investors, estate surveyors and valuers, farmers, and others who earn a living by doing daily tasks on property.
With these life work cadres, one can easily notice the harmful and beneficial effects of the Land Use Act on the entire society.
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