What Is a Governor's Consent, and Why Does Your Property Transfer Need It?

A surprising number of Nigerian property disputes trace back to the same missing step: nobody applied for Governor's Consent, or the deal closed before it came through. The buyer paid, the seller handed over the keys, and years later a bank, an heir, or a second buyer surfaces to say the transfer was never actually valid.

Here's what Governor's Consent actually is, why Nigerian land law requires it at all, and what it takes to get it right.

Why a "sale" of land in Nigeria needs government permission at all

The starting point is the Land Use Act 1978, which changed the basic structure of land ownership in Nigeria. Rather than individuals holding land outright, all land in a state is vested in the Governor, held in trust for the people of that state. What an individual, family, or company holds instead is a right of occupancy: the right to use and possess a specific piece of land, evidenced by a Certificate of Occupancy or an equivalent instrument, rather than absolute ownership of the land itself.

Because the underlying land sits with the Governor, transferring a right of occupancy from one person to another — an alienation, in the Act's own language — requires the Governor's consent to be effective. This covers an assignment (a sale or transfer of the right of occupancy itself), a mortgage over it, and a sublease or lease for a longer term.

What actually needs consent

• An assignment — a sale or any other transfer of the right of occupancy from one party to another.
• A mortgage — using the right of occupancy as security for a loan.
• A lease or sublease for a longer term — ordinary, short periodic tenancies generally sit outside this, but a lease granted for a longer fixed term typically falls within it. Where exactly that line sits for a specific lease is a detail worth confirming for the actual term being granted, rather than assuming either way.

A straightforward monthly or yearly tenancy of the kind covered in our guide to notice periods and recovery of possession is a different thing entirely from an assignment or a long lease, and does not itself require Governor's Consent.

What happens if a transfer skips it

An assignment made without the Governor's prior consent does not effectively transfer the right of occupancy. In practice, this means the buyer cannot safely rely on having good title until consent is actually obtained — even after money has changed hands and possession has passed. Consent sought and obtained afterwards can regularise the position, which is exactly why chasing it down is worth doing rather than treating it as a formality nobody will ever ask about.

The real-world cost of skipping it shows up later, usually at the worst possible time: a bank refusing to accept the property as mortgage security, a subsequent buyer's own search turning up an irregular title history, or a family dispute over a deceased owner's estate reopening a transfer nobody thought would ever be examined again.

Getting consent — what to expect

The application goes to the relevant state Lands Bureau (in Lagos, the Lagos State Lands Bureau) with the executed instrument, evidence of the underlying right of occupancy, and payment of the assessed consent fee, stamp duty, and registration charges. These are separate, government-assessed sums — not a fixed, published fee schedule — and processing time varies considerably by state and by how complete the application is. Building in a realistic timeline, rather than assuming a same-week turnaround, avoids a lot of unnecessary pressure on a closing.

What Pandas LP does

Our Deed of Assignment includes the Governor's Consent undertaking as part of the instrument, invoiced at 2.5% of the consideration — that figure is our professional fee for drafting the deed and handling the consent application, separate from and in addition to the government's own consent fee, stamp duty, and registration charges, which are assessed and paid directly to the state.

It will not invent a Certificate of Occupancy number, plot number, or consideration figure that hasn't actually been supplied, and where ownership is disputed, litigation is already live, or the matter otherwise sits outside a straightforward transfer, it escalates to a practitioner rather than drafting around the problem.

This article is general information about Nigerian land law and is not legal advice on your specific transaction. Requirements and processing vary between states, and the facts of a particular transfer can change the position.