Lawyer urges Lagos govt to end land registry delays

The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) has emphasised that the national mortgage registry approved by the National Council on Housing and domiciled within the FMBN would significantly improve transparency and confidence in Nigeria’s mortgage market.
 
It also noted that like the National Housing Data Programme, the Mortgage Registry would depend on the active cooperation of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), state land registries, financial institutions, mortgage operators, developers, professional bodies and other stakeholders.
 
Managing Director/Chief Executive of FMBN, Shehu Osidi, who stated this at a stakeholders’ workshop on Nigeria’s housing and built environment sector to validate the National Housing Data Programme Report, revealed that the bank’s National Mortgage Registry has reached a major milestone and is ready for deployment.

He said: “The National Mortgage Registry, which has been approved by the National Council on Housing and domiciled within FMBN, is being developed as a central digital repository for mortgage transaction records across the country.

The application has been developed and is ready for deployment, while stakeholder engagements, data collection, cleansing and validation activities continue.”
 
According to him, the registry is expected to enhance transparency, improve access to mortgage information, strengthen risk management and build confidence in Nigeria’s mortgage market.
 
Osidi reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to supporting the National Housing Data Programme, noting that reliable data remains critical to expanding access to affordable housing finance and deepening Nigeria’s mortgage market.

In another development, a Lagos-based legal practitioner, Mr Oluwole Kehinde, has called on the Lagos State Government to urgently intervene in the prolonged delays at the Lagos State Lands Registry, warning that the situation is crippling commercial activities linked to land transactions.

Speaking to The Guardian on the issue yesterday, Kehinde decried what he described as a persistent administrative breakdown at the registry that has lasted for over three months.
 
According to him, the delay has stalled critical processes such as the processing of Governor’s Consent and perfection of title documents, despite applicants meeting all statutory requirements.
 
He noted that the development has significantly disrupted commercial activities in Lagos, widely regarded as the country’s economic nerve centre, with property transactions still pending.
 
The lawyer explained that the situation is taking a toll on key stakeholders, including real estate developers, financial institutions, legal practitioners and business owners whose operations depend on timely documentation and title regularisation.