Critical drivers and consequences of informal land transactions in Owerri Urban, Imo state, Nigeria

Urban land markets are important components that shape, reshape and transform urban areas. There are two types of urban land markets namely: formal and informal land markets. Whereas the formal land markets are those governed by state law, informal land markets are those that are neither governed by the state law nor registered in the government system. It has been observed in Owerri that the formal land market (the Land Use Act) is unable to meet the demand for urban land when and where needed for the teeming urban population. This is because of its implementation process which has been found to be time consuming, frustrating, cumbersome and highly bureaucratic. Because of this, majority of the urban dwellers are compelled to resort to informal land market (private land market transactions) as a reliable alternative. This study sought to identify and rank the critical drivers and consequences of informal land transaction in Owerri urban, Imo state. The study adopted a cross sectional design approach within quantitative research methodological paradigm. Data for the research were through the Key informant interview technique and Personal observation for the primary source and already written literatures and maps for the secondary. The research revealed that there are eight (8) drivers and eleven (11) consequences of informal land transaction in Owerri urban and proved that all the eight (8) drivers are critical because each of them scored a mean value above 3.5. But out of the eleven consequences, eight (8) were found to be critical while three (3) were not. This is because they scored a mean value below 3.5. The study contributed to the existing body of knowledge by identifying and ranking these critical drivers and consequences. It was recommended among others that there is the need for radical re-examination of formal land administrative systems with a view to adopting more flexible ways of interacting with informal land acquisition processes. Again, the government should critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of both land markets and harmonize them for efficient urban land market transactions.