Assessing State Influence on Land Accessibility and Successful Implementation of Federal Government Building Construction Projects in South-South Nigeria (2006-2016)

Abstract

Despite the provisions of the Land Use Act (LUA), cap L5 of 2004, to make land available for all stake holders, Federal Government has continuously found it difficult to access land in the states for her developmental projects. Does this influence successful implementation of her building construction projects in south-south Nigeria significantly? To what extent does the State where the project is domiciled influence successful project implementation? In order to provide answers to these questions a survey approach was used in three States (Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Cross River), randomly selected with two projects in each State. Structured questionnaire was used to elicit data from screened 179 respondents for the study. Two hypotheses were formulated to guide the research work. The dependent variables studied were land accessibility and successful project implementation while the State where the projects were domiciled was the independent variable. The analytical tools used included simple percentages, one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Least Significant Difference (LSD) test. The hypotheses were tested at .05 level of significance. Findings revealed that State where the projects were domiciled had significant influence on the two dependent variables of land accessibility and successful project implementation and that Cross River State was significantly different from the other States on land accessibility but only on Akwa Ibom State on successful project implementation. The research proffers that for land to be easily accessible for Federal Government projects, Federal Government should enshrine in the Nigerian operating Land Policy the customs, traditions, and beliefs of the locals, take centre stage in all levels of land administration and educate her land administrative personnel in respect of government rights in land matters.