Commissioner of Lands & Survey, Professor Adamu Ahmed, has commended the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Abdulkadir for signing an Executive bill on the amendment of the State Geographic Information System Law (2018) and related matters.
It would be recalled that at a brief ceremony, the Governor observed that the amendment of the law is intended to facilitate effective land administration in the state in line with global best practices and within due process and rule of law.
He further directed the State Commissioner of Land & Survey to ensure that the development is fully taken to advantage in improving the quality of urban planning.
“As a former Minister of the FCT, I fully understand that land Administration is larger than GIS contrary to what we inherited, and the new law is meant to correct that”.
In a separate interview, the Commissioner of Lands & Survey Professor Adamu Ahmed observed that the amended law is part of a larger reform intended to jumpstart inclusive growth by empowerment of property owners, through issuance of secured titles, and to use the titles to access credit and other financial services.
According to Professor Ahmed “the modern economy operates on the basis of legal tender and instruments represented on paper indicating who owns what and where.
” Ours unfortunately is a situation where less than 5% of properties across the state are titled, implying that the majority are unfit to access important financial services; and this is how our efforts at systematic titling will see to as many people being mainstreamed into the formal economy”.
The amended law according to him will also see to “the creation of a robust platform to allow seamless interphasing of urban planning and land administration currently operating in distinct silos”.
Referring to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals, Professor Ahmed, sees the reform as an important point for the state to consciously benchmark progress towards improving economic prosperity and ensuring productive urban development.
There is convincing evidence from around the world that land registration is directly linked to better access to formal credit, higher land values, higher investments in land, and higher output/income.