Bauchi unveils new guidelines for land acquisition

The Bauchi Geographic Information Service (BAGIS), an agency of the state Ministry of Lands in the Department of Land Administration, has introduced a new guideline for land acquisition and administration in the state.

The Director General of BAGIS, Baba Abubakar Suleiman Katagum, said the 28-page document titled: “General Land Services Operational Guide Manual”, laid out all procedures for owning and use of land in the state.

Katagum said, “In BAGIS, we are planning a land registration system, and are campaigning to increase or encourage registration which will also contribute to the alleviation of poverty.”

He said land registration would give the owners guaranteed protected land rights as a source of personal wealth which would provide opportunities for economic independence and that the state government would re-enact the “Land Instruments Registration Law of Bauchi State” which required the registration of land documents with the Ministry of Lands.

He said the new measure would encourage business development as proper registration would provide land proprietors guaranteed titles which could be used as collateral in banks to access loans.

“We have actually produced a simple and easy-to-read registration procedure which will be printed as a booklet that explains all our registration procedure and informs applicants of the requirements for our various processes. The booklet can be obtained free of charge at BAGIS’ Deeds Registry and is a viable method of disseminating information to the public,” he said.