Land reform key to investment confidence, revenue growth in FCT – Amayaevbo

2026-02-08 - 06:18

By Ephraim Oseji Former President of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Johnbull Amayaevbo, has called for a comprehensive overhaul of land governance in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, describing it as critical to boosting investor confidence, expanding internally generated revenue, and positioning the city as a globally competitive capital. Amayaevbo argued that Abuja’s land administration system must evolve beyond a rigid, compliance-driven bureaucracy into a market-responsive framework that actively supports investment certainty and economic growth. He made the call while delivering a lecture titled: “From Compliance to Competitiveness: Positioning Abuja’s Land Governance Framework for Investment Confidence and Revenue Growth.” Drawing lessons from global cities such as Riyadh, Singapore, Vancouver, Barcelona, Curitiba, and Kigali, Amayaevbo noted that modern land governance has emerged as a powerful economic tool – one capable of shaping investor perception, strengthening fiscal capacity, and enabling sustainable urban development. “In contemporary urban economies, land governance has evolved far beyond its traditional administrative role,” he said. “The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe recognises that land governance is no longer limited to issuing titles or enforcing zoning regulations; it now functions as a strategic economic instrument that shapes investor confidence, revenue mobilisation, and city competitiveness.” He added that a 2024 World Bank report underscored that globally competitive cities are increasingly defined not just by infrastructure or population size, but by how predictably, transparently, and efficiently land is governed. According to Amayaevbo, Riyadh’s transformation under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 demonstrates how land governance can be repositioned as a strategic lever for economic diversification. Through large-scale master planning, state-led land assembly, integrated land-use regulation, and digitised administration, investor uncertainty has been reduced and project execution accelerated. Similarly, he said Vancouver’s competitiveness is anchored in transparent, market-responsive land governance. “Clear zoning frameworks, density bonusing, and negotiated development agreements allow the city to capture land value for public amenities while sustaining private investment. Predictable approvals and strong property rights significantly enhance investor confidence,” he noted. Amayaevbo described Singapore as a global benchmark in state-led land governance, where near-total public land ownership, long-term leasehold systems, and integrated spatial planning align land use directly with national economic strategy. This, he said, reduces investor risk while ensuring fiscal sustainability. He also referenced Barcelona’s district-level regeneration, where adaptive rezoning of declining industrial land enabled innovation-driven mixed-use development, and Curitiba, Brazil, where integrated land-use and transport planning guided compact growth and reduced urban sprawl through clear, enforceable development rights. Closer to home, Amayaevbo highlighted Kigali as an emerging African model. “Comprehensive land registration, digitised cadastre systems, and clear development controls have significantly reduced tenure insecurity and informal development, improving investor confidence and municipal revenue generation,” he said. Turning to Abuja, Amayaevbo described the city as a paradox. “As Nigeria’s capital, Abuja enjoys intense land demand, premium property values, and sustained domestic and international investor interest. Yet it continues to underperform in land-based revenue mobilisation and struggles with investor uncertainty. This suggests that the challenge is not land scarcity or weak demand, but a governance framework still anchored largely in compliance rather than competitiveness.” He explained that while compliance-oriented land governance focuses on rules and procedures, competitiveness-oriented governance prioritises outcomes such as secure tenure, timely approvals, credible valuations, predictable fiscal obligations, and efficient market circulation of land. “Investors do not assess land systems by the volume of regulations, but by how reliably those regulations translate into certainty,” he said. “Delays in titling, inconsistent valuations, and fragmented institutional roles act as hidden taxes on investment.” Amayaevbo noted that Abuja’s rapid spatial expansion over the past two decades has created a dual land market – a high-value formal core and a largely informal peri-urban periphery with weak documentation. This fragmentation, he said, undermines investment confidence and deprives government of significant revenue by excluding vast land areas from the formal tax base. Despite initiatives such as the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS), he observed that persistent bottlenecks in service delivery, data integration, and institutional coordination have diluted the benefits of technological reforms. “The result is a city where land demand is strong, but land confidence remains fragile,” Amayaevbo said. “Without systematic titling, integrated land data systems, and market-reflective valuation processes, Abuja’s land market will remain partially formalised and unable to fully support sustainable urban growth.” He concluded that repositioning land governance as economic infrastructure, rather than mere administration, would transform land from a source of uncertainty into a trusted asset for both government and investors – unlocking Abuja’s full fiscal and developmental potential.