Housing Minister Says 110 Million Nigerians Unhoused, 16 Million Houses Needed

Minister of Housing and Urban Development Muttaqha Darma has said about 110 million Nigerians are currently unhoused, requiring an estimated 16 million housing units to address housing deficit in the country.

The Minister spoke on Wednesday at formal presentation of allocation letters to eligible staff of Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority NMDPRA under Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme in Abuja.

Darma commended NMDPRA for supporting access to affordable housing for its workers under the federal government housing initiative.

According to him, the initiative is significant in face of huge housing deficit in Nigeria.

He said more than 16 million housing units are needed to accommodate over 100 million unhoused Nigerians, describing housing provision as a very big task.

He said government must see every opportunity to deliver housing to Nigerians as important, beyond number of units allocated.

He said providing housing to Nigerians remains major responsibility of government.

The Minister also raised concern over rising cost of home construction, saying home ownership has become increasingly difficult for ordinary Nigerians.

He said NMDPRA initiative is therefore significant in helping workers achieve home ownership.

Earlier, NMDPRA Chief Executive Mallam Rabiu Umar said about 430 members of staff in Abuja, Kano and Lagos are receiving allocation letters under Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme.

Umar said the development is practical demonstration of how government policies can translate into tangible benefits for citizens.

He said authority considers staff welfare as important component of institutional performance, noting that workers with peace of mind will better contribute to national mandate.

He commended Authority Staff Cooperative Society, Renewed Hope Access to Housing Committee and other partners for facilitating the housing initiative.

Also speaking, Chief Executive of Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria FMBN Shehu Osidi said NMDPRA staff subscribed to 430 housing units in Karsana Abuja and Janguza Kano.

Osidi said 197 National Housing Fund mortgage applications valued at about 8.3 billion naira are being packaged for submission to FMBN by City Code Mortgage Bank Ltd.

He said FMBN has provided 100 billion naira off-take guarantee for Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme commencing with Karsana project, in addition to 19.9 billion naira in direct funding.

He said interventions are designed to give developers greater certainty, facilitate construction financing and enable eligible workers to access completed houses through sustainable mortgage financing.

He disclosed that FMBN will soon roll out Rent-to-Own product for eligible civil servants, while bank has already launched Diaspora Mortgage Loan.

He added that FMBN has signed memorandum of understanding for 10 billion naira housing loan scheme for federal civil servants.

President of Authority Staff Cooperative Society Abdullahi Auta disclosed that more than 1000 NMDPRA staff applied for housing initiative, but about 430 have so far been accommodated.

He appealed for continued support to enable more staff awaiting allocation to benefit.

Chief Commercial Officer of Renewed Hope SPV Ltd Dare Makinde said in first phase, Abuja accounted for 365 units comprising two-bedroom flats, three-bedroom flats and three-bedroom terrace duplexes with boys quarters.

He said Kano has 14 units comprising three-bedroom and four-bedroom bungalows, fully detached houses and three-bedroom terrace duplexes with boys quarters.

He said Lagos has 56 units comprising two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments with boys quarters.

Makinde said second phase of project will be delivered next year to accommodate applicants who could not benefit from first phase.

He said additional housing projects are also planned for Asaba, Enugu and Ibadan.

He urged other public and private organisations to support housing schemes for their workers, saying rising rents made institutional support important in helping workers achieve home ownership.