May

24

2023

FELIX O. APPAH (DIRECTOR LANDS AND HOUSING DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT)

(DIRECTOR LANDS AND HOUSING DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT)

My name is Felix Ojotule Appah, I am presently a Director, the Head of Department of the Lands and Housing Development of the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. I was born on October 29 1964 in Lagos but my State of Origin is Delta State, i.e Ebun town in Oshimili North Local Government Area.

I attended Salvation Army Primary School Lagos from 1970-1975, St. Gregory’s College, Lagos from 1976 – 1981 Gbenoon Grammar School, Agbor, Delta State 1981 – 1982; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State (1982 – 1988), where I obtained a B-SC (Estate Management) degree with a second Class honors and also passes an B.Sc degree (GIS) degree obtained from the University of Ibadan Oyo State with a registered Estate Surveyor and Valuer.

I became employed in the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development as a Lands Officer II in August, 1989, My working experience include serving as the Head of Lands Section of the Kogi State Field Headquarters, Lokoja from 1993 to 2001, Federal Controller, Niger State Field Headquarters, Minna from 2010 – 2018 and Director/HOD of the Department of Lands and Housing Development from December, 2022 to date.

Functions Of The Department

The Department has the following statutory responsibilities:

1. Administration and management of Federal Government lands and landed properties within and outside the country;

2. Valuation of landed properties for all purposes (sale, rental, purchase, insurance, acquisition and compensation, investment, etc) for Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs);

3. Acquisition of land and payment of compensation for such lands on behalf of Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies;

4. Registration of titles created in respect of Federal Government grants and leases;

5. Formulation and implementation of policies on land including National Land Policy and Land Reform Programme of the Federal Government;

6. Representing the Ministry on Committees/bodies like the Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) in matters relating to land administration, housing finance, mortgage, etc.;

7. Providing the Secretariat for the Land Use and Allocation Committee (LUAC);

8. Promoting the development of a robust primary and secondary mortgage finance industry in Nigeria in partnership with the private sector and dealing with matters relating to the operations of the National Housing Fund;

9. Advising the Honourable Minister on matters affecting the practice, control and regulation of the Estate Surveying and Valuation profession in Nigeria;

10. Keeping, maintenance and compilation of records relating to Federal Government Lands and properties;

11. Granting of Temporary Occupation Licences on Surplus Government. Lands and assessment, revision and collection of ground rent, rack rents and Licence fees;

12. Providing leadership in matters of policy, administration and management of land for other tiers of Government;

13. Providing the Secretariat and focal point for collaboration with foreign development partners and multilateral agencies on matters relating to land for agriculture, housing development, housing finance/mortgage and land administration reforms.

Structure
The Department has total staff strength of 322 at the Headquarters, Abuja, Field Offices in 36 States and FCT.  There are 6 Directors manning the six Directorates of the Department and the most senior coordinating as Head of Department. There are 7 Deputy Directors and 6 Assistant Directors. The approved establishment structure for the Department is as follows:

(a) Land Acquisition and Compensation Division;

(b) Land Administration Division;

(c) Asset and Property Valuation Division;

(d) Land Valuation Division;

(e) Estate Management Services Division;

(f) Housing Development Division;

(g) Housing Finance and Mortgage Services Division;

(h) Federal Land Registry;

The Units are:-

(i) Secretariat of the Land Use and Allocation Committee (LUAC);

(j) Federal Land Information System (FELIS); and

The Department is the secretariat to the Presidential Technical Committee on Land Reform.

Feb

07

2020

ORGANOGRAM LAND AND HOUSING DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT