The Landuse Act of 1978 provides for compulsory acquisition of land by the government for public
interest. Although, the Act has facilitated massive land acquisition by the government since its promulgation, it
nevertheless, suffers strong criticisms on many grounds. This is because the problems the Act has created seem to
outweigh its gains. Thus, this paper is a further examination of the Landuse Act using public land acquisition policy in
Akwa Ibom State as a framework. Theoretical and empirical approaches were employed to collect data on hectares
of land acquired and developed by Akwa Ibom State government for various uses. Using interview design as a tool for
data collection, relevant data were obtained from officials of the Ministries in charge of land acquisition in the state.
The findings indicate that between 1990 and 2005, Akwa Ibom State Government acquired 10747.6 hectares of land
out of which 4621.7 hectares (43%) have been developed for various uses. Further analysis of the data reveals spatial
and temporal dimensions, with regression correlating weakly hectares of land developed with the years of acquisition
(R = .559 and R2
= .312) while sectoral allocations indicate strong positive relationship between hectares acquired and
hectares developed (R = .914, R2
= .835). The paper finally highlights some implications of compulsory acquisition
policy, investigates low development of acquired land and recommends measures to attenuate the socio-economic
dislocations of land acquisition policy of government.