THE POWER OF THE MORTGAGEE TO SALE VIS-A-VIS LAND MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Mortgage transaction is an indispensable practice in modern day business activities. In Nigeria however mortgage is regulated by the legal framework provided by the Land Use Act, 1978 as amended. It also appears that the Act is legally inadequate, and its interpretation often generates controversies in some respects. The study critically examined the power of the mortgagee to sale vis-a-vis land management in Nigeria, the restrictive definition of a holder, mandatory, costly and time consuming consent, dreadful revocation of the provision of section 28, discriminatory compensation, resettlement without compensation, non-transferability of non-urban land, the problem of land accessibility for security, problems of access to land in Nigeria under the act for security, problem of land availability under the act for security, problems of land affordability under the act for security, increased scarcity of land and escalating prices, implications of inadequate access to land for security, inefficient use of land resources, inequitable distribution of wealth worsening housing conditions, environmental degradation, poverty accentuation, regional imbalances in economic development. The study finally made recommendations that will accommodate the interest of the mortgagee/lender when the market goes dry. It was further observed that the consent provision in the Land Use Act and clauses on revocation, compensation and settlement were impediments to mortgage transactions in Nigeria as there were no such laws that constitute impediments to mortgage transaction in United Kingdom and India and recommended their removal.