Stakeholders in the property sector has raised the alarm over the excruciating pains they go through in getting land titles documented with Lagos State government. They claimed, this is despite the state government said it has digitized the process.

A concerned practitioner said: “For the past three years, the Lagos State government’s online portal for land title registration has reportedly remained dysfunctional, making it extremely difficult for property owners, developers, and investors to successfully register their titles.

“The repeated excuse that the portal is not functioning has resulted in a serious backlog, with little or no progress on new title registrations. This situation is creating unnecessary difficulties for developers and investors who need properly registered titles to proceed with transactions, secure financing, develop their properties, and conduct business with confidence.

“The question is: why has this issue been allowed to continue for so long? Why is the Governor not addressing this situation? Why is the Registrar of Titles silent? Why has the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Lands not provided a clear solution or timeline for resolving the problem?”

He added that if the online system has genuinely been experiencing technical challenges for such an extended period, why has the Lagos State Government not reverted to the manual registration process as an interim measure?

“There should be a practical alternative that allows legitimate property transactions and title registrations to continue while the online platform is being fixed. The continued inability to register titles is not merely an administrative inconvenience. It has serious implications for investors, developers, property owners, financial institutions, and the wider real estate sector.

“It is therefore important for the Lagos State Government to provide transparency on the situation and explain: What exactly is responsible for the prolonged failure of the online registration portal?, What steps are being taken to resolve the problem?, When will the portal become fully functional?, Why has an alternative manual registration process not been provided?, What measures are being put in place to clear the backlog of pending registrations?”

He maintained that the Lagos real estate sector cannot operate efficiently when title registration is effectively stalled for years. “We need answers, accountability, and an immediate solution. If the online system is not working, then the Government should provide a functional alternative. Developers and investors should not continue to bear the consequences of an administrative or technological failure that is beyond their control.”

The issues raised by the practitioners were taken to the Land Bureau for comment and clarification. As a result, the Public Relations Officer of the agency, Mr. Adeola Dayo Harry was contacted. He provided the details of the practitioners’ concerns. He claimed he was on leave and so, he was told to provide the person who could comment on the issues, he promised to get back, but he has not as at press time.