Why land act should be removed from Constitution -Ekweremadu

The Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has advocated the need to expunge the  Land Use Act  from the 1999 Constitution in order to make changes in the land administration system in Nigeria, much easier.
Ekweremadu, who is also the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution according to a statement on Sunday his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr.  Uche Anichukwu,  stated this in Enugu on Saturday.
He spoke during the presentation of the book ‘ABC of Contemporary Land Law in Nigeria’ written by the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Hon. Justice Innocent Umezulike.
He said effective land administration was central to national development, and that although the Act was due for review, it had been difficult to do so since such would require going through the complex processes and huddles of constitution amendment.

The Senator who also regretted that efforts of his committee to remove the Act from the 1999 Constitution and subject it to ordinary processes of amending acts of parliament could not scale through the Third Reading in the Senate.
Ekweremadu said, “For us at the National Assembly, what is necessary at this stage is to take the Land Use Act out of the constitution so that it can be refreshed.
“I believe that the Act is overdue for review, but you cannot do that the way it is now because you will have to go through all the processes of a constitutional amendment.
“So, what we need to do at this moment is to take it out of the constitution so that it can be re-examined in tune with the times.”
Ekweremadu described Emezulike as a complete lawyer, commended him for coming out with a unique book that would expand the frontiers of Land Law and legal education in the Nigeria.
He noted that the book was unique in the sense that it was coming from a complete lawyer.
He said, “The book is complete in the sense that Justice Umezulike was in private legal practice, a law teacher, and now, the Chief Judge of Enugu State. So, the book is written from the perspective of a man who has seen it all.
“Thus, when his book is named ‘ABC of Contemporary Land Law in Nigeria’, for me, the A there is the apex, the B is the best and the C there means it is a complete”.
The Deputy Governor of Delta State, Prof. Amos Utuama, was the Chairman of the book presentation and had in attendance, the Governor of Enugu State who was represented by the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Hon. Anthony Anih.