Housing: FG to collaborate with states over 15m deficit

The Federal Government has said it will collaborate with state governments and other stakeholders to reduce Nigeria’s estimated 15 million housing deficit.

Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Dangiwa, stated this on Thursday at the closing ceremony of the 14th National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development held in Ilorin, Kwara State.

The meeting, themed; “Achieving Housing Delivery and Sustainable Cities through Effective Land Management, Urban Renewal, Promotion of Local Building Materials, and Public Private Partnerships in Nigeria,” was organised by the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

Speaking on the theme, Dangiwa outlined a Unified Housing Delivery Framework designed to align federal housing institutions with state level implementation.

He said the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Federal Housing Authority, Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company, MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund, and Family Homes Funds Limited would operate as a single, coordinated system.

Under the framework, the minister explained that states are expected to provide land, infrastructure, and counterpart funding, while federal institutions mobilise long-term finance, technical support, and affordable mortgage solutions.

Dangiwa called on state governments, development partners, private investors, and professional bodies to support the National Homeownership and Housing Development Campaign, scheduled to be flagged off in Katsina State in March 2026.

“Unlike previous unreliable figures, current data shows that Nigeria’s housing deficit stands at about 15 million units, rather than the 20 million or more that was previously being quoted,” he said.

He stressed that Nigeria’s housing challenges could not be resolved without reforming the country’s land administration system.

According to him, the National Land Titling, Registration and Documentation Programme (Land4Growth) remains central to the ministry’s reform agenda.

“In 2025, we secured strong national stakeholder buy-in through high level engagements in Abuja and Lagos, supported by World Bank implementation missions to Kaduna, Kano, and Niger states,” Dangiwa said.

He disclosed that within the past year, the ministry processed and signed 1,743 Certificates of Occupancy, approved 345 secondary transactions, including mortgages and consents, and concluded 32 valuation approvals nationwide.

The minister emphasised urban renewal as a national priority, noting that rapid urbanisation continues to outpace infrastructure and planning capacity.

Through the National Urban Renewal and Slum Upgrade Programme, he said the ministry has delivered “over 240 projects nationwide, with more than 100 others currently at various stages of completion”.

On housing affordability, Dangiwa identified Nigeria’s heavy reliance on imported building materials as a major cost driver.

He said the Federal Government is advancing the establishment of Building Materials Manufacturing Hubs to deepen local production, reduce construction costs, and strengthen housing value chains.

Dangiwa also said the ministry has recorded progress in major Public Private Partnership housing projects under the Renewed Hope Cities initiative in Abuja, Lagos, and Kano, with some phases nearing commissioning and active house sales already underway.

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