6 AVENUES TO PURCHASE LAND IN NIGERIA

Acquiring or purchasing land for developmental purposes of any kind in Nigeria is a very tedious and rigorous process for anyone who does not know the appropriate channel/avenue to follow in doing so. This is due to the high level of protocols and bureaucracies that any aspiring land purchaser will inevitably go through.

Because of these factors, I have decided to write on the various avenues by which anybody (Public, Corporate or Individual) aspiring to acquire or purchase land for varying developmental purposes in Nigeria can do asuch.

The various avenues to purchase/buy land for developmental purposes in Nigeria are:

·         Government estate schemes

·         Private property development companies

·         Government’s property investment companies/agencies

·         Mortgage/financial institutions

·         Individual property investors

·         Traditional land owners (Omo-Onile)

1.      GOVERNMENT ESTATE SCHEMES

Acquiring or purchasing land for any developmental purpose from government (State and Federal) is the most authentic avenue to do asuch, as this is statutorily stipulated in the Land Use Act of 1978.

The Act vested all land lying in the territory of each state (except land vested in the Federal government or its agencies) solely in the Governor of the State, who would hold such land in trust for the people and would henceforth be responsible for allocation of land in all urban areas to individuals resident in the state and to organisations for residential, agriculture, commercial and other purposes while similar powers will with respect to non urban areas are conferred on Local Governments.

Section 1 of Act states that “Subject to the provisions of this Act, all land comprised in the territory of each State in the Federation are hereby vested in the Governor of that State and such land shall be held in trust and administered for the use and common benefit of all Nigerians in accordance with the provisions of this Act”

In adhering to the laid down laws of the Land Use Act, government (State and Federal) do acquire large expanse of land to be developed into either site and service estate schemes or built-up estate schemes which are then advertised to the general public for purchase and acquisition.

Any body that acquires or purchases land in government estate schemes will be issued a statutory right to use that land for a fixed term/period of 99years. The evidence for granting such purchaser the statutory right on the land is issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) to that successful applicant/purchaser. 

But as secured and legitimate as it looks or sounds in acquiring or purchasing land from government estate schemes, the process in doing is still a tedious one as many people who subscribed/applied to these government schemes are yet to be allocated their plots of land largely due to over-subscription and/or non availability of government estate schemes which people can readily purchase for developmental purposes.

Because of these negative factors, many people have diverge different ways in acquiring/purchasing land from other sources since government’s various estate schemes cannot cater for nor meet the high demand of people in dire need of land for different developmental purposes (most residential).  

2.      PRIVATE PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANIES

Another avenue which people can take to acquire or purchase land for developmental purpose in Nigeria is through site and service (land) estate schemes been massively embarked upon by the various private property development companies carrying out real estate development activities and business in the country.

What these private property development companies do is to acquire large expanse of land from either the traditional land owners (omo-onile), government (state and federal) or private/corporate land owners, and afterwards divide the land into lots/units/plots to be sold to the general public in the form of a site and service estate scheme or built-up estate scheme.

Anybody that is interested in acquiring/purchasing land for developmental purpose from the various private property development companies will need to apply and subscribe to such estate scheme either directly with the property development company or any of their associate marketing partners.

Payment for land in any of these private property development companies’ estate schemes is made either out-rightly, in installments or as may be prescribed by the developers of such estate schemes.

The title documents that are given to successful subscribers/purchasers of private company development estate schemes is letter of allocation of the particular lot/plot of land bought coupled with a Deed of Assignment/Conveyance bearing the purchaser’s name.

Many private property development companies forbids people in buying more than one plot of land from any of their estate schemes mainly to discourage speculative motives of some property investors.

Examples of private property development companies in Nigeria are UAPDC, HFP engineering ltd, etc

3.      GOVERNMENT PROPERTY INVESTMENT AGENCIES

Government (state and federal) have also created and established various property investment agencies/companies to cater mainly for the provision and availability of large expanse of land to the general public for acquisition/purchase but this is embarked upon from the investment perspective of the government.

Real estate is regarded as one of the best investment machine that generates adequate returns on investment through provision of streams of income for the owner. It is in this regard that government also established property investment companies/agencies to make large expanse of land available for sale to the general public so as to generate more revenues inform of income to the government.

So, government’s property investment agencies/companies is another avenue where all prospective purchasers/buyers of land for developmental purpose can go to in acquiring or purchasing the land of their choice.

Examples of government’s property investment companies/agencies in Nigeria are: LSDPC, Ibile Holdings, Ogun state property development company, etc

4.      MORTGAGE/FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS 

Yes, it is also possible for anybody looking for land to acquire or purchase for developmental purpose to get such land from any of the mortgage or financial institutions operating in Nigeria.

There are some foreclosed properties such as land and buildings which some mortgage and financial institutions always advertise for sale to the general public due to non-payment of the loan advancement granted owners of these land and landed properties which have been used as collateral for the repayment of such loan advancement.

Anybody that needs land for developmental purpose might be lucky to get a good bargain for any of this foreclosed land and landed properties as their monetary values is not always in consonance with their real Market Values.

So you can always be on the look out for the availability of foreclosed lands from mortgage and financial institutions operating in Nigeria if and when you want to acquire or purchase land for developmental purposes.

5.      INDIVIDUAL PROPERTY INVESTORS

Individual property investors refer to those investors who buy land from various sources and/or avenues mainly for speculative and investment motive to be sold back to the general public afterwards. 

They are investors who buy land so as to keep hold of it till when it appreciates in monetary value and afterwards sell such land at a higher price to anybody who may be interested in acquiring or purchasing such land from them.

So many people are now going into the act of real estate investment as they are certainly sure of making higher returns on their investment afterwards.

Also, there are some individual property investors who buy land to undergo different classes of property development (residential, commercial, leisure, etc) activities to be leased or sold to people after its completion, while there are some who just buy land to re-sell such after some time when it has appreciated in monetary value.

Acquiring or purchasing land from individual property investors is another avenue which can be relied upon by anyone looking for genuine means of getting land for developmental purpose in Nigeria.

6.      TRADITONAL LAND OWNERS (OMO-ONILE)

This is by far the most popular means by which one can acquire or purchase land as far as land acquisition for developmental purpose is concerned in Nigeria. It is the easiest avenue and the most direct means which one can acquire or purchase land in Nigeria for developmental purpose.

This is so because it is not everybody that are properly enlightened or aware as to the other various avenues where and how land can be bought/purchase for developmental purpose in Nigeria.

Also, buying land from the traditional land owners popularly called Omo-Oniles is very cheap and readily available for everyone to access as compared to the other avenues mentioned above.

Most and if not all of the various avenues I mentioned above in acquiring or purchasing land for various developmental purposes in Nigeria are through the traditional  land owners – Omo Oniles – whose family and forefathers lay claim to the ownership of land in the country. 

This has been so, long before the enactment of the Land Use Act of 1978 and even afterwards till today.

There are so many things that must be considered when buying land from the traditional land owners - Omo-Oniles - in Nigeria as whoever does not take cognizance of these things may end up falling into the wrong owners of such family land.

Be on the lookout for my next post as I will be writing on the various factors to be considered when buying land from traditional land owners – Omo Onile.

Always employ the services of the professional Estate Surveyor and Valuer to guide you through the process of acquiring or purchasing land from any of these various avenues written above as they are professionally trained in the art and science of diversified areas of Real Estate Management discipline.

I implore you to kindly share this post/article because there are so many people out there looking for this particular piece of information but can’t get or have access to it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adeniyi Akinjiyan is a Higher National Diploma (HND) holder of Estate Management from the prestigious Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos state, Nigeria. He possesses a Professional Practice Certificate in Estate Surveying and Valuation from the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV).

He is the principal consultant of Aakient Consultants Ltd, a highly progressive and consolidated property and construction project management company, which is committed to providing the highest level of professional services in meeting clients’ real estate needs.

Feel free to contact him at: aakientconsultants@gmail.com