By Adaobi Rhema Oguejiofor
As part of efforts to address Nigeria’s housing deficit, the Federal Government has announced that about 10,112 housing units are currently under construction at 14 active sites across the country.
The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Ahmed Dangiwa, revealed this while speaking at the 6th Africa Housing Awards and Industry End of Year Dinner in Abuja. He explained that these ongoing projects include 12 Renewed Hope Estates, comprising 250 housing units each, across 12 states, with two states selected from each geo-political zone.
Dangiwa also pointed out larger urban projects being developed in different parts of the country including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with about 3,112 units, Kano with about 2,000 units, Lagos with about 2,000 units and additional cities planned in Enugu, Borno, Rivers, as well as Nasarawa.
The Housing Minister, while appreciating the Housing Africa Group and Festus Adebayo, the organisers of the award, for putting together the initiative, said that recognising the efforts of key players in the sector and encouraging them to do more was a great way of bringing about growth and development.
He maintained that the housing sector’s potential as a driver of economic growth remains evident in the job opportunities that the programme has created, highlighting that with an average of 25 jobs per house, the ongoing projects have both directly and indirectly generated over 252,800 jobs for Nigerians, including skilled and unskilled labourers.
According to him, in just over a year, the ministry has been able to adopt a range of creative and diversified funding strategies in order to create the impact required. He listed the commencement of reforms in land administration, social housing and building materials manufacturing, housing data and several other aspects of the housing and urban development value chain as some achievements of the ministry.
The Chief Executive of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Shehu Osidi, while also speaking at the event, said that through strategic partnerships, innovative financing models, and stakeholder engagement, the bank was deepening access to affordable housing and supporting Nigerians to achieve their homeownership aspirations.
“As part of these efforts, we have provided a N100 billion off-takers guarantee to facilitate the development of the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates across Nigeria, beginning from the Renewed Hope housing project in Karsana, Abuja. We are also introducing new products like Rent Assistance, Non-interest Mortgage and Diaspora NHF Mortgage amongst others”, he stated.
Osidi also thanked Adebayo and the Housing Development Advocacy Network (HDAN) for being steadfast and invaluable partners to the FMBN and their commitment to promoting sustainable housing development success.
On his part, the Former Minister of Mines and Solid Minerals, who was also the Chairman of the occasion, Musa Sada, noted that housing for some people is a human right and as such it is something that needs to have all the attention that it deserves. He stated that one area that should witness discussions and generate ideas on how to move forward is the one that has to do with building materials development, adding that the issue remains crucial to moving the sector forward.
“For us as professionals, design innovation is very important. We do not just design beautiful houses, we have to design affordable houses and we can only do it by sharing ideas by cross-referencing ourselves as professionals and seeing what we can do. For the contractors that build for us, construction techniques are also very important. We need to start discussions on producing houses, not building them.
“How do we produce houses just like any other product that we put out in the market? These are areas of discussion that I think an avenue like this can afford us and can generate ideas for us to be able to use. And for the regulators of the government, we have to start looking at the issues of very strong policies and regulations. The policies need to be made stronger. We need to come up with regulations that will give us the pleasure and the comfort to be able to operate in the sector,” Sada explained.
Meanwhile, Dangiwa, in a related development, urged owners of Federal Government-owned lands and houses in Lagos State to remit their ground rent to the government’s coffer.
The Minister made the call during a stakeholder-citizens engagement on land administration and a physical assessment of Banana Island, Osborne, Phase one and two, Park View/ Foreshore Estates and Shorelines.
He stated that the ministry planned to optimise its revenue collections by ensuring that all the occupiers of the Federal Government’s assets pay their ground rent to enable it to improve the facilities, adding that while the Federal Government is committed to renovating, safeguarding and optimizing the value of its assets nationwide, it will also enforce strict compliance to its land and estates administration laws.
Dangiwa explained that the Ministry of Housing under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, had resolved to restore order in federal land and asset management, directing the estate associations to stay within their limits, as they have the right to collect facility management fees based on agreement with the occupants of the estates.
He warned that whatever the occupants agreed to pay should be used to maintain the estates in terms of electricity, roads and all other facilities utilized in the estate.
Dangiwa expressed that the stakeholder engagement on land administration provided an opportunity to share insights and contribute to the Federal Government’s strategy for sustainable urban development, adding that the interactive session was a critical step toward improving land administration in Lagos and delivering on the ministry’s promise of affordable housing and urban development for all Nigerians.