ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF LAND ALLOCATION POLICIES ON HOUSING NEEDS IN ADO-EKITI, EKITI STATE, NIGERIA

The land allocation process is a key instrument of government to ensure easy access to buildable land. This process was investigated to assess the impact of government land allocation policies on housing needs in Ado Ekiti, a major city in Nigeria. The study used both secondary and primary data. It focused on the government's land allocation system from 2013 to 2022. Questionnaires were retrieved from 233 of the 253 respondents selected for the study. This represents a 92.09% retrieval rate. Linear trend analysis using least squares regression was conducted to show the effectiveness of land allocation process, while the Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine the significance between the challenges of land allocation process and the housing needs in Ado Ekiti. The finding revealed that there are systemic inefficiencies in the process of land allocation in Ado Ekiti. The relationship between the Land Allocation issue and the housing needs were also found to be significantly related. This finding indicates that there is a need to focus on process improvement. It further revealed that there is a need for substantial reforms and policy update that will improve urban planning and housing policies in Ado Ekiti and other major cities in Nigeria.