Bauchi amends law to unlock potentials of land, urban planning

The Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has accented to a law repealing the Bauchi Geographic Information Services (2018), replacing it with a new one that will provide support for land administration processes through securitisation of tenure, and support for land and property taxation.

Speaking while signing the bill into law at the Government House Bauchi, Mohammed said the previous law allowed BAGIS to assume power over land administration, contrary to the provisions of the Land Use Act.

He said the new law would ensure effective land administration in line with best practices.

“As a former minister of the FCT, I’m very much aware that land administration is beyond GIS, and that is what we intend to address by this law,” Bala stated.

He directed the Commissioner of Lands and Survey to use the development to assist the state government to achieve the set objectives as plans are in top gear for a robust masterplan for major cities in the state.

“We pray Allah to bless the State House of Assembly and the Bauchi State Government for the kind of synergy we have established. I must thank the assembly for the synergy, cooperation, statesmanship and call to duty. These bills that we just signed with your approval are critical, having looked at our geographic system that has not been done according to global best practices.

“With my background as a former FCT minister, I know that land administration is larger than geographic system and I approached the assembly to make it useful under land administration and the ministry for enforcement of geographic information system so that we can have one of the best in terms of urban and regional planning,” he said.

Speaking with journalists after the signing of the law, the Commissioner for Land and Survey, Professor Adamu Ahmed, said the new law would help the state to effectively guarantee ownership and security of tenure, ensure credit facilitation, develop and monitor land markets, reduce land disputes, and improve the processes and outputs of urban planning and infrastructure development.

Adamu explained, “This law gives us an important window to mainstream the local economy into the national financial system, to help facilitate investment and to allow urban planning to have a direct handshake with the land cadastre.

“Looking beyond COVID-19, the reform will enable us to reconfigure the local economy, and to improve our Ease of Doing Business ranking over the long haul.”