What governor's consent means
Governor's consent is the state signing off on your land transfer.
It exists because of how land ownership works in Nigeria. The Land Use Act vested all land in each state in the Governor, held in trust. What individuals hold is a right of occupancy. Since the state is effectively the landlord, the state has to approve when that right is passed to somebody else.
So when you buy land with a Certificate of Occupancy, the seller signs a deed of assignment, and then the Governor consents to it. Only then is the transfer complete.
How it is used
The application goes to the state lands bureau along with the deed, the seller's title documents, a survey plan, tax clearance and evidence of payments. The state assesses the property, charges consent fees, capital gains tax and registration fees, and if satisfied endorses consent on the deed.
The deed is then stamped and registered. Buyers often describe this whole sequence as perfecting title, and it is the part that separates a receipt from ownership.
Key features
- Required by Section 22 of the Land Use Act for most transfers of statutory title
- Applied for at the state lands bureau, with fees assessed on the property value
- Endorsed on the deed of assignment itself
- Usually followed by stamping and registration to complete the process
- Takes months rather than weeks in most states
How this works in Nigeria
Cost and delay are the reasons people skip it, and skipping it is the most expensive shortcut in Nigerian property.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that a transfer requiring consent and made without it is exposed, and Nkwocha v. Governor of Anambra State is the case people cite. A buyer holding an unconsented deed has paid full price for an incomplete title.
It also compounds. When that buyer eventually sells, the next buyer's lawyer finds the gap, the price drops or the deal collapses, and the cost of fixing years of unconsented transfers falls on somebody.
Governor's consent vs registration
These are two different steps and both are needed.
Consent is approval of the transfer. Without it the transfer itself is at risk of being void, which means the buyer may have acquired nothing.
Registration is recording the transaction at the lands registry so the world has notice of it. Without registration your deed may be valid between you and the seller but lose to a later buyer who registered first.
A deed that is consented but unregistered, or registered but unconsented, leaves you exposed in different ways. Perfecting title means doing both.
Limits and risks
Consent applies mainly to statutory titles. Transfers of unregistered interests, family land held under customary arrangements, and certain other dealings raise different questions, and buyers should not assume the rules are identical.
Consent also does not cure other defects. It does not confirm that the seller had a good root of title, that the land was excised, or that the people signing had authority. It approves the transfer, not the whole history.
Worth knowing
Budget for consent fees, capital gains tax and registration when you set your purchase price. Buyers who plan only for the price of the land routinely stall halfway through perfecting title.