The country is a federation of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. It has a federal constitution governing the entire country and in which lands and real property rights of the state and individuals are placed under the Concurrent List. This connotes that the federal government can make laws that apply to the entire country, the state government can make ancillary legislations governing their respective states and which are subsidiary to federal statute.
The subsidiary legislations by the states are not radically different and the principles and practice are generally similar across the country. The overriding legislation in operation is the Land Use Act.
Other subsidiary legislations include:
The Nigerian government has taken a strong stance on the ease of doing business and has devoted considerable resource with a committee established headed by the Vice President of the country. Real property registration is one of the avenues being streamlined by the ease of doing business committee.