post / 11 November 2022

PAST EVENT: IFIT’s Middle Belt Brain Trust organises convening to improve land administration in Nasarawa State

Between November 9-10 2022, the Nasarawa Working Group of IFIT’s Middle Belt Brain Trust (MBBT) held an in-person convening to analyse the system of land ownership in Nasarawa state. 

Organised in collaboration with the Secretary to the State Government’s Office, the meeting gathered together key stakeholders responsible for administering Nasarawa’s formal and informal land holdings. Attendees included traditional rulers; government land administrators from state and local government authority levels (including the Surveyor General, NAGIS, the Ministry of Justice, and land officers); land agents; and representatives from religious communities.

At the convening, participants highlighted potential opportunities and actions that can be taken to improve the land administration process. The group concluded that the most frequent variable as to whether a land ownership conflict will occur is the point at which land held under customary ownership (i.e. informal tenure) is sold to the first buyer.

To further examine the process of purchasing land held under the various types of informal tenure in Nasarawa State, a 10-member project implementing unit was formed. This group will develop recommendations on how to improve land ownership processes, including via record-keeping and verification, as well as how to make the process of obtaining paperwork more accessible and affordable.