The honourable member representing Iseyin/Itesiwaju State Constituency, Hon. Dele Adeola has held public hearing on the bill he sponsored at Oyo State House of Assembly titled: Land Administration and Control Bill, 2020 in order to guarantee that all land-related laws are consistent, updated and easily accessible to the people of the State.
The public hearing which was held at House of Chiefs, Oyo State Secretariat is usually called for whenever there is a need to incorporate opinions and views from members of the public on any legislative matter.
Speaking to the stakeholders, the Chairman Committee on Lands, Housing and Survey, Hon. Dele Adeola, averred that the land disputes have become a major problem in Oyo State and are now pervasive, adding that the House of Assembly has taken action to proactively to stop the menace.
According to ODUDUWA NEWS, he claimed that the “land is a major factor of productivity in which development of a nation is centred on, particularly in the aspect of human development. He opined that everybody’s wish is acquisition of expanse of land and this makes it a very important aspect that all stakeholders must look into.
The bill if enacted into law according to the honourable, he continued, will ensure that a Land Administration Committee is established in each of the local governmentareas in the state as well as at the federal level.
While addressing the Speaker, Debo Ogundoyin on the bill, he averred that the land disputes have been causing alot of economic disaster to the states as a result of people falling victims of fraudulent activities perpetrated by land grabbers and impersonators.
He further claimed that the citizens of the State have been oppressed for a long period of time in the hands of these land syndicates and that series of issues bothering on land disputes are currently before the courts, including land grabs, land ownership, boundaries, and acquisition collapsed buildings, among other issues.
“The House of Assembly enacted laws including the Real Properties Protection Law 2016, the Survey Law 2008, and the Public Land Acquisition Law 2000 in an effort to combat these threats.
“All of these laws are intended to address issues relating to land in the state as it is very crucial at this point in time to take drastic steps to curb growing trend of land disputes. After some time, the 9th Assembly realized that in order for the state’s current land-related laws to fulfill their intended functions, a new legislation is required. This influenced how a bill was presented here.
“The House plans to integrate all land-related legislation in the State to make them more easily accessible, including the Real Properties Protection Law of 2016, the Survey Law of 2008, the State Law of 2000, the Land Development (Road) of 2000, and others, for convenience of reference”, said Adeola.
Among the stakeholders who graced the ocassion to present their views and inputs at the event were the Ministry of Land, Housing and Survey, Oyo State Housing Corporation, Office of the Surveyor General, Nigeria Institution of Surveyor, Oyo State and other professional bodies and traditional rulers led by Onpetu of Ijeru, Oba Sunday Oyediran, Oba Jimoh Olajide Titiloye; Olu of Igbo-Ora, High Chief Yusuf Ayoola; Basorun of Oyo among others.
Also in attendance were the Speaker of Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Debo Ogundoyin, Hon Olatunde Kehinde (Akinyele II); Vice-Chairman of the Committee, Hon Sanjo Adedoyin; Majority leader, Hon Simeon Oyeleke, Hon Kazeem Olayanju, Hon Femi Julius, Hon Akintunde Olajide and other lawmakers.