PROPERTY TRANSACTION GUIDE

Lagos revises land policy, adopts new excision process
By Tunde Alao

Guardian, Monday, 30th November 2009

TO curb persistent controversies arising from land excision matters in Lagos State, the Lands Bureau, Governor's Office, has revised the state's existing land administration policy, and relocated land excision matters under the functions of the Land Use and Allocation Committee (LUAC).

The decision followed recommendations made by a committee charged with the review of the state's land excision procedures by collating records of uncompleted excisions and outstanding issues. The committee's recommendations to government, submitted in the middle of this year (2009), were approved by the Lagos Executive Council.

Under the new format, the LUAC has been granted statutory powers to advise the governor on all matters connected with the management of land and the resettlement of persons affected by the revocation of rights of occupancy on the ground of overriding public interest.

The functions of the LUAC, according to documents made available to The Guardian, include the processing of applications as well as monitoring and offering of timely resolution mechanisms and perhaps, "recommending the grant or refusal of excision" to the governor.

Besides, the body is to keep in view, important and large acquisition/revocation in the state; identify villages and settlements within such acquisition/revocation areas and consider (upon application by prospective grantees or at the instance of the governor), the need for excision of specific areas from the acquisition/revocation areas; receive and process applications for excision which originate from land owing families, communities or villages; examine the possible implications of excisions on the affected families, communities and villages and proffer solution; and, proffer effective implementation strategies to government.

It is also to recommend approval or rejection of excision application and where approved and ensure the due perfection of the excision process.

The LUAC is to be assisted by a technical committee on excisions, which is empowered to process applications, forwarded to it by the LUAC and make appropriate submission and recommendations.

The purpose of the technical committee, according to a senior official in the Bureau, who did not want her name in print, is to accommodate concerns among the public that leaving a matter as weighty as excisions in the hands of few individuals could be counter-productive.

Membership of the technical committee includes officials from the Lands Bureau, as well as the Ministries of Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Environment, Justice and Physical Planning and Urban Development.

Others are the New Towns Development Authority, Office of the Surveyor-General and, the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives.

The revised procedure for processing applications for excision will involve:

ONE: The Baale in Council/Secretary, family head or their duly authorised representatives shall forward an excision application to the Land Use and Allocation Committee on the letterhead paper of the community concerned;

The application submitted must be on behalf of the entire community and must include the location and relevant local government authority; the historical background, the population figure; predominant occupation of community; the perimeter survey of the area claimed; proposed usage of the area to be excised; and the justification for the excision, that is, reasons for request.

TWO: processing by the technical committee within seven days of the receipt of an excision application. The same shall be forwarded to the technical committee on excisions for processing.

THREE: Charting of information. The perimeter survey and other relevant information shall be handed over to the Surveyor-General for charting and status advice. This is to confirm whether or not proposed excision falls within any government acquisition or revocation area, which is the basis for considering the application.

FOUR: Site inspection within 14 days of receiving the Surveyor-General's status advice. The Technical Committee members are to carry out a physical site inspection with a view to ascertaining the authenticity of the claims in the application. "Where applicable, this should be done in conjunction with representatives of the family, community or village concerned. During such visits, representatives and inhabitants of the community shall be interviewed with a view to obtaining additional information or documents to be considered along with the application," the document states;

The Technical Committee would be expected to ensure "conformity to master plan" before submitting its report. It shall also ensure that the proposed usage of the area covered by the excision application conforms to the master plan of the locality.

On completion of the site inspection and other necessary checks, the Technical Committee would submit a report to the LUAC detailing its findings and opinion on the application, following which the LUAC would make its recommendation to the governor for approval or refusal, stating clearly its reasons. Where excision is recommended, the committee shall state the full particulars of the proposed grantees and the size and description of land being recommended for excision.

Where excision is approved by the governor, the Office of the Surveyor General is to within 30 days thereof, prepare the perimeter survey and a full survey description of the parcel of land to be excised for publication in the Official Gazette and for use in preparing a Certificate of Occupancy for the grantees.

Thereafter, layout plans drawn by registered town planners of the families, communities or individuals concerned shall be submitted to the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development for approval.

The document also stated that; "to encourage the production of layout plan for excised areas the approval fees shall be charged on a concessionary basis of not more than 15 per cent of the going rate".

It was also stated that before completion of the excision process, the grantees would be expected to enter into an agreement to take the excised land in full and final settlement of all claims arising from previous acquisition/revocation of their land title and to indemnify the state.

After the preparation of a detailed survey description of the excised area and execution of indemnity agreement by the grantees, the technical committee shall publish the approved excision in the Lagos State official gazette.

The new policy also provides that where the grant of village excision is to a community whose land was acquired or utilised specifically for a government project or a public private partnership project, excision is usually at the instance of the state government. Hence, the procedure to be adopted will involve:

• All relevant information dispatched to the LUAC for onward transmission to the Technical Excision Committee, which takes over the process and ensures perfection of all documentation and processing in accordance with the aforementioned position and "memorandum of understanding (MoU) to include an undertaking by the beneficiaries to accept the excision in full and final settlement of whatever demands they may have been making on government and that they would not come back to ask for more land."
  
  The official government position on the clause is that "this order in council created herein is intended to improve the internal management of the state government and is not intended to, or does not create any rights or benefits, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by a party against Lagos State, its departments, agencies or entities, its officers, employers or agents or any other person".