Nigeria’s Housing Ministry Partners World Bank Group to Unlock $300 billion Land Formalization Grant
The Minister of Housing, Architect Ahmed Musa Dangiwa announced the partnership aimed at increasing land formalization to 50% over the next 10 years, projected to unlock over $300 billion in dead capital.
He said this during the Nigerian Liveable Cities Workshop organized by the Ministry in collaboration with the World Bank, held in Abuja.
According to a statement on the Ministry’s website, the Minister emphasized the necessity of this partnership to conduct a National Land Documentation and Titling Programme, highlighting that less than 10% of land in Nigeria is currently registered and titled, leaving its economic potential largely untapped.
It includes housing and land management, urban services delivery, climate change action, urban management and finance, and transportation,” Dangiwa noted.
The programme also aims to partner with state governments towards improving land formalisation from less than 10% to 50% in the next ten years as critical to unlocking over $300bn in dead capital.
The statement noted that the Housing Minister has developed a draft framework for the programme and directed it to be shared with the World Bank Group for adoption and implementation.
The workshop with participants comprising state commissioners and senior officials from Anambra, Abia, Edo, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, Oyo, Rivers, and Plateau aimed to enhance the liveability of Nigerian cities by addressing key urban policies, challenges, and institutional barriers.
At the end of the workshop, recommendations were made that included improving data accuracy, reducing pressure on services through urban planning, controlling floodplain development, aligning programs with government policies, investing in climate-smart infrastructure, and reviewing the Land Use Act.
Others are the development of a Drainage Master Plan for flood control, and a National Urban Programme to operationalize the National Urban Development Policy, the creation of City Administrations by State Governments backed by political will and Legal framework and improving their roles in service delivery, as well as integrating disaster resilience and early warning systems with State development plans, among others.