The African Regional Institute for Geospatial Information Science and Technology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Osun State, during its workshop on ‘Cost-effective land approaches to land registration in Africa’, advocated the efficient and effective land administration in Nigeria.
The Executive Director, AFRIGIST, Dr Adewale Akingbade, while delivering his address, pointed out that the workshop was organised to develop the capacity of professionals working in land administration and cadastral management in West African sub-region.
He said going further, the initiative was planned in conjunction with the School of Land Administration Studies of the University of Twente and the Dutch Kadaster, which is the Netherlands Kadaster, Land Registry and Mapping Agency.
Akingbade stated that AFRIGIST was established in 1972 under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa as an institution to train highly skilled manpower in geospatial information science and technology and its applications.
He said, “The workshop is to enable participants to identify common and specific issues relating to land administration in their countries; propose workable solutions for specific contexts, and most importantly forge a lasting network of professionals where continuous discussion and deliberations will take place.”
The Chairman of Presidential Technical Committee on Land Reform, Professor Peter Adeniyi, said the importance of the land economy to development was recognised, and was what informed why the committee was doing its best to ensure that land administration was efficient and effective in Nigeria.
The Surveyor General of the Federation, Ebisintei Awudu, noted that the workshop was timely for the country because of the cardinal objective of diversification of agriculture and solid minerals.
He said the office of the Surveyor General of the Federation would also benefit from the workshop as it was currently establishing platforms and infrastructure. Punch
