SECTION
- Establishment of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority.
- Membership of the Governing Board.
- Objects of the Authority.
- Tenure of office of members.
- Removal from office of members of the Board.
- Functions of the Board.
- Power of the Board.
- Duty to liaise with relevant institutions.
- Donation of lands for development.
Staff of the Authority
- Executive secretary and other staff of the Authority.
- Conditions of service in the Authority.
- Pensions.
- Establishment, etc., of the State Agricultural Land Development and the Federal Capital
Territory Land Development Advisory Committees. - Establishment of State Directorates.
- Establishment and membership of the Local Government Project Implementation Advisory
Panels.
Financial provisions
- Fund of the Authority.
- Expenditure of the Authority.
- Power to borrow and invest.
- Annual estimates and income.
- Power to give directives.
- Interpretation.
- Short title.
SCHEDULE
Proceedings of the Board
An Act to establish a National Agricultural Land Development Authority to pro-
vide, among other things, strategic public support for land development.
[1992 No. 92.]
[7th May, 1992]
[Commencement.]
- Establishment of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority
There is hereby established in the Presidency an authority to be known as the National
Agricultural Land Development Authority (in this Act referred to as "the Authority")
which shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and may
sue and be sued in its corporate name.
- Membership of the Governing Board
(1) The management of the Authority established by section I of this Act shall be
vested in a Governing Board (in this Act referred to as "the Board") which shall consist
of a chairman and the following other members, that is-
(a) a representative of the Federal Universities of Agriculture to be appointed in
rotation;
(b) the permanent secretaries responsible for-
(i) Agriculture;
(ii) Labour;
(c) the Director-General, National Commission for Women;
(d) the President, Nigeria Labour Congress;
(e) three persons chosen on their individual merit; and
(f) the executive secretary.
(2) The provisions of the Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to the
proceedings of the Board and the other matters contained therein.
[Schedule.]
- Objects of the Authority
Subject to this Act, the objectives of the Authority shall be to-
(a) provide strategic public support for land development which presently consti-
tutes a major infrastructural development bottleneck hindering the develop-
ment of viable economic farm holdings;
(b) promote and support optimum utilisation of Nigeria's rural land resources for
accelerated production of food and fibre;
(c) encourage and support economic-size farm holdings and promote consolida-
tion of scattered fragment holdings to generate net income from agriculture
which is aimed at sustaining living standards above the poverty line and
thereby narrow rural-urban income inequalities;
(d) encourage the evolution of economic-size rural settlements that will reap the
economies of scale in the provision of social infrastructures;
(e) provide gainful employment opportunities for rural people, raise rural incomes
and improve on the general living standards in rural areas;
(f) expand productive capacity in agriculture and regain export capability in tradi-
tional and non-traditional crops;
(g) contribute significantly towards the attainment of a national food and fibre
self-reliance, self-sufficiency and national food security through optimum
utilisation of available abundant land resources which ensures minimum soil
and environmental degradation, while simultaneously promoting sustainable
agriculture;
(h) facilitate appropriate cost-effective mechanisation of agriculture; and
(i) institute strategic land use planning schemes to deal with major allocation
problems including the creation and location of forest and grazing reserves and
other areas with restricted use, and the re-location of population, should this be
necessitated by localised population explosion, pressure or national disasters.
- Tenure of office of members
(1) The chairman of the Board shall hold office for a period of three years and shall
be eligible for re-appointment for a further period of three years and no more.
(2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, a member of the Board
other than an ex-officio member shall, subject to the pleasure of the President, hold office
for a period of three years from the date of his appointment and shall be eligible for re-
appointment for a further term of three years and no more.
- Removal from office of members of the Board
(1) The President may, at any time, remove any member of the Board from office if
the Minister is of the opinion that it is not in the interest of the Board for the member to
continue in office and shall notify the member in writing to that effect.
(2) Where the Board is satisfied that the continued presence on the authority of any
member is not in the interest of the nation or the interest of the Board it may recommend
to the President that the member concerned be removed from his office; and if the Presi-
dent, after making such inquiries as he considers necessary, approves of the recommen-
dation he may in writing declare the office of the member vacant.
- Functions of the Board
Without prejudice to the provisions of section 3 of this Act, the Board, shall subject to
the overriding guiding rule that land is owned by the community and is being developed
by members of the community on its behalf-
(a) acquire suitable tracts of land in various parts of Nigeria for purposes of devel-
opment;
(b) develop and parcel out any land into economic-size farm plots and assign such
plots to selected farmers to own and manage for their own benefit;
(c) acquire and consolidate scattered, fragmented farm holdings and re-parcel the
consolidated units into economic-size holdings for re-distribution to their own-
ers and such other persons within the locality who can conveniently benefit
from the scheme;
(d) supervise, monitor and assist in the overall operation and management of the
scheme and assist in the organisation of the farmer-participants in projects
speci tied under the scheme;
(e) provide general extension support services and technical information on soil
types, land, capability or suitability for various agricultural purposes including
livestock and arable farming;
(f) assist, engage in and advise the participants in the scheme on all aspects of
land conservation and land degradation control at the project sites in particular
and, in appropriate circumstances, outside the project sites;
(g) assist the participants in the scheme on the method of acquisition or procure-
ment of production inputs and in the development or provision of appropriate
technology for processing, where feasible, of farm produce and in the market-
ing and disposal of the processed farm produce;
(h) engage in or assist with on-farm and off-farm training of farmer-participants
and project management personnel;
(i) designate and delineate protected areas (for biodiversity or their fragility);
(j) allocate land for large scale farming in a manner which allows peasant farmers
to have continued access to land sufficient for their needs in the face of rapid
population growth;
(k) assist large scale farmers, where possible in the development of their lands;
provided such services are on a commercial basis;
(l) develop a code of sound land management procedures for all land resources
development proposals in order to ensure that they conform with national
needs and policy of minimising land degration and enhancing land and other
resource conservation;
(m) assist in the provision of social infrastructural facilities for the emergent
growth-centres at or around the project sites; and
(n) engage in any other up-stream or down-stream activity which, in the opinion of
the Board are incidental to or necessary for the attainment of the objectives of
the Authority,
7. Power of the Board
The Board shall have power to-
(a) define the management scheme of the programme;
(b) screen the applicants and select the participants using guidelines and regulations formulated pursuant to this Act
(c) reject any land donated to it which in its opinion is not suitable for reasons of size or quality or for any other reason whatsoever;
(d) select the appropriate enterprise for each project site in consultation with the local community; and
(e) enforce the provisions of section 6 of this Act and grant approval for any land development programme proposal if it is satisfied that such development does
not offend the provisions of this section.
- Duty to liaise with relevant institutions
In the discharge of its functions under this Act, the Board shall liaise with the univer-
sities, relevant research institutes, Federal and State Ministries and agencies as well as
relevant Local Government Departments and agencies for co-operation and assistance in
furtherance of the Authority's functions as specified in this Act, in such a manner as to
avoid duplication of functions.
- Donation of lands for development
Lands for development by the Authority shall be donated by the State Governments,
Local Governments or the participating community and such lands shall be free of any
encumbrances and no compensation of any form whatsoever shall be paid by the Author-
ity, agency of the Government of the Federation or any other body on behalf of the
Authority in that regard.
Staff of the Authority
10. Executive secretary and other staff of the Authority
(1) There shall be appointed for the Authority an executive secretary who shall be the
chief executive of the Authority.
(2) The executive secretary shall be appointed by the President.
(3) The executive secretary shall be responsible for the execution of the policies of
the Authority and its day-to-day administration.
(4) The executive secretary shall hold office in the first instance for a period of five
years and shall be eligible for re-appointment for a further period of five years and no
more.
(5) Subject to the provisions of this section of this Act, the executive secretary shall
hold office on such terms as to emolument and otherwise as may be specified in his letter
of appointment, and as may, from time to time, be approved by the President.
(6) The Board may appoint such other employees to assist the executive secretary in
the exercise of his functions under this Act.
11. Conditions of service in the Authority
(1) The appointment of the staff of the Authority shall be governed, mutatis mutan-
dis, by the general terms and conditions of service as the Board may, after consultation
with the Federal Civil Service Commission, determine.
(2) The Board may, subject to the provisions of this Act, make staff regulations re-
lating generally to the conditions of service of the staff of the Authority and without
prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, such regulations may provide for-
(a) the appointment, promotion, termination, dismissal and disciplinary control of
the staff of the Authority; and
(b) appeals by such staff against dismissal or other disciplinary measures, and un-
til such regulations are made any instrument relating to the conditions of serv-
ice of officers in the civil service of the Federation shall be applicable, with
such modifications as may be necessary, to the staff of the Authority.
(3) The staff of the Authority shall be public officers as defined in the Constitution of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.
[Cap. C23.]
(4) Staff regulations made under subsection (2) of this section, shall not have effect
until it has been approved by the Board and when so approved, the Board shall cause
them to be brought to the notice of all affected persons.
12. Pensions
(1) Service in the Authority shall be approved service for the purpose of the Pensions
Act and, accordingly, officers and other persons employed in the Authority shall be enti-
tled to pensions, gratuities and other benefits as are prescribed thereunder.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, the Authority may appoint a per-
son to any office on terms which preclude the grant of a pension, gratuity or other retire-
ment benefits in respect of that office.
(3) For the purpose of the application of the provisions of the Pensions Act, any
power exercisable thereunder by a Minister or other authority of the Government of the
Federation, other than the power to make regulations under section 23 thereof, is hereby
vested in and shall be exercisable by the Authority and not by any other person or
authority.
13. Establishment, etc., of the State Agricultural Land Development and the
Federal Capital Territory Land Development Advisory Committees
(1) There shall be established to assist the Authority in each State of the Federation
and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, a State Agricultural Land Development Advi-
sory Committee and the Federal Capital Territory Land Development Advisory Commit-
tee (in this Act referred to as the "State Advisory Committee").
(2) Each State Advisory Committee shall consist of the Commissioner for Agricul-
ture as chairman and the following other members that is-
(a) the permanent secretaries in charge of-
(i) Lands and Survey;
(ii) Finance and Economic Development;
(iii) State Commission for Women;
(iv) Local Government Matters, Governor's Office;
(b) the State Director of-
(i) Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructures;
(ii) Mass Mobilisation for Social Economic Recovery;
(c) the Programme Manager Agricultural Development Project;
(d) a representative each of-
(i) the Nigerian Association for Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture;
(ii) the Farmers Association; and
(iii) the State Director of the Authority who shall be the secretary.
(3) The State Advisory Committee shall be charged with the following functions, that
is-
(a) advising on the implementation of the Authority's programmes within the
overall framework of the national agricultural land development policy guide-
lines;
(b) authorising and assisting in the co-ordination of the collaborative input from
the existing public agencies in order to minimise role duplication, operational
conflicts, friction and avoid unnecessary institutional rivalry;
(c) providing feedback through the State Directorate to the Authority on imple-
mentation problems encountered in the field along with suggestions (if any) on
how such difficulties may be overcome;
(d) advising generally on the most effective ways of implementing the Authority's
programmes taking into consideration the socio-political peculiarities of each
State without detriment to the policy objectives of the Authority.
14. Establishment of State Directorates
(1) There shall be established in each State of the Federation and the Federal Capital
Territory, Abuja, a State and Federal Capital Territory Directorate of the Authority (in
this Act referred to as "the State Directorate").
(2) Each State Directorate shall be headed by a director who shall be responsible for
implementing the Authority's programmes in its area of jurisdiction.
15. Establishment and membership of the Local Government Project Implementa-
tion Advisory Panels
(1) There is hereby established for each Local Government Area of a State and the
Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, a Local Government Project Im-
plementation Advisory Panel (in this Act referred to as "the Panel") which shall be sub-
ject to the control of the Authority.
(2) The functions of the Panel shall be to monitor and ensure an effective implemen-
tation of the programmes of the Authority within its area of juri sdi cl ion.
(3) Each Advisory Panel shall consist of the chairman of the local government as
chairman and the following other members, that is-
(a) the councillor for Agriculture;
(b) the councillor for Lands and Surveys;
(c) a representative each of-
(i) the Traditional Council;
(ii) the women organisations in the area;
(iii) the Local Government Community Development Department; and
(iv) the project co-ordinator who shall act as the secretary to the Advisory
Panel.
Financial provisions
16. Fund of the Authority
(1) The Board shall establish and maintain a fund from which shall be defrayed all
expenditures incurred by the Authority.
(2) There shall be paid and credited to the fund established pursuant to subsection (1)
of this section-
(a) 10 per cent of the Ecological Fund;
(b) such moneys as may, from time to time, be lent or granted to the Authority by
the Government of the Federation, a State or a local government;
(c) all moneys raised for the purposes of the Authority by way of gift, loan, grant-
in-aid, testamentary disposition or otherwise;
(d) all subscriptions, fees and charges for services rendered by the Authority; and
(e) all other assets that may, from time to time, accrue to the Authority.
(3) The fund established by subsection (1) of this section shall be managed in accor-
dance with rules made by the President and without prejudice to the generality of the
power to make rules under his subsection, the rules shall in particular contain provi-
sions-
(a) specifying the manner in which the assets of the fund of the Authority are to be
held and regulating the making of payments into and out of the fund; and
(b) requiring the keeping of proper accounts and records for the purposes of the
fund in such form as may be specified in the rules.
17. Expenditure of the Authority
The Board may, from time to time, apply the proceeds of the fund established pursu-
ant to section 16 of this Act to-
(a) the cost of programme implementation and administration of the Authority;
(b) the payments of the salaries, fees and other remuneration, allowances, pensions
and gratuities payable to employees of the Authority.
18. Power to borrow and invest
(1) The Board may, with the consent of the President, borrow, on such terms and
conditions as the Board may determine, such sums of money as the Board may require in
the exercise of the functions conferred on it under this Act.
(2) The Board may, subject to the provisions of this Act and the conditions of any
trust created in respect of any property, invest all or any of its funds in accordance with
the general guidelines approved by the Federal Government.
(3) Subject to section 20 of this Act, the Board may invest such surplus funds in any
security as it may determine from time to time.
19. Annual estimates and income
(1) The Board shall, not later than 31 October in each year, submit to the President an
estimate of its expenditure and income during the next succeeding year.
(2) The Board shall keep proper accounts of the Authority in respect of each year and
proper records in relation thereto and shall cause its accounts to be audited not later than
six months after the end of each year by auditors appointed from the list and in accor-
dance with guidelines supplied by the Auditor-General for the Federation.
20. Power to give directives
The President may give the Board directives of a general nature with respect to any of
the functions of the Authority and it shall be the duty of the Board to comply with such
directives or cause them to be complied with.
21. Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-
"Authority" means the National Agricultural Land Development Authority estab-
lished by section 1 of this Act;
"Board" means the Governing Board of the Authority established by section 2 of this
Act;
"development" means the physical preparation of land for crop and livestock pro-
duction and includes actual crop and livestock production, storage, processing and mar-
keting as well as the provision of social infrastructural facilities;
"member" means a member of the Authority and includes the chairman.
22. Short title
This Act may be cited as the National Agricultural Land Development Authority Act.
SCHEDULE
[Section 2 (2).]
Proceedings of the Board
1. Subject to the provisions of section 27 of the Interpretation Act (which provides for deci-
sions of a statutory body to be taken by a majority of its members and for the person presiding
to have a second or casting vote) the Board may make standing orders regulating the pro-
ceedings of the Board or any committee thereof.
[Cap. 123.]
2. At any meeting of the Board the chairman shall preside but if the chairman is absent, the
members present shall appoint one of their number to preside at the meeting.
3. Where the Board desires to obtain the advice of any person on a particular matter, the
Board may co-opt that person as a member for such period as the Board may deem fit; but a
person who is a member of the Board by virtue of this paragraph shall not be entitled to vote
at any meeting of the Board and shall not count towards a quorum.
4. The quorum for meetings of the Board shall be the chairman and three other members and
the quorum of any meeting of a committee of the Board shall be determined by the Authority.
5. The Board shall meet not less than two times in each year and on such other occasions as
the Board may consider necessary.
6. Any member of the Board or any committee thereof having a personal interest in any con-
tract or arrangement entered into or proposed to be entered into by the Board or any commit-
tee thereof shall forthwith declare his interest to the Board or committee and shall not vote on
any question relating to the contract or arrangement.
7. The Board may also establish other standing, or ad-hoc committees to carry out on behalf
of the Board such of its functions as the Board may determine.
Miscellaneous
8. The fixing of the seal of the Authority shall be authenticated by the signature of the ex-
ecutive secretary and of any other member of the Authority authorised in that behalf by the
Authority.
9. Any contract or instrument which if made or executed by a person not being a body corpo-
rate would not be required to be under seal may be made or executed on behalf of the Author-
ity by the executive secretary or any person generally or specially authorised by the Authority
to act for that purpose.
10. Any document purporting to be a document executed under the seal of the Authority and
authenticated as aforesaid shall be received in evidence and shall, unless the contrary is
proved, be deemed to be so executed.
11. The validity of any proceeding of the Board shall not be affected by any vacancy in the
membership of the Board or by any defect in the appointment of a member of the Board or by
reason that any person not entitled to do so took part in the proceedings of the Board.
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION
No Subsidiary Legislation
