Nigeria’s Housing Deficit: FG, 36 States To Fix Mortgage and Land Title Bottlenecks At Sokoto Council Meeting
The Federal Government and the 36 state governments have agreed to confront bottlenecks in mortgage and land administration that are frustrating housing delivery in Nigeria.
This will be the focus of the 15th Meeting of the National Council on Land, Housing and Urban Development scheduled to hold in Sokoto from October 12 to 16, 2026.
The council, which is the highest policy advisory body on housing, will meet under the theme Strengthening Mortgage, Land and Institutional Systems for Accelerated and Inclusive Housing Delivery.
The five-day meeting will bring together state commissioners for housing, permanent secretaries, heads of state housing corporations, surveyor-generals, mortgage banks, land registry officials and other built industry regulators.
According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, the gathering is not just about building more houses, but about fixing the systems that make houses unaffordable and inaccessible.
Stakeholders have repeatedly identified expensive land title processes, weak mortgage systems, lack of housing finance and poor coordination between federal and state governments as major reasons Nigeria’s housing deficit remains above 20 million units.
The meeting will review progress in the sector, exchange experiences from different states and agree on coordinated policy actions that can unlock land and expand mortgage access for low and middle income earners.
Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqha Rabe Darma and Minister of State, Yusuf Abdullahi Ata will lead the federal delegation.
Permanent Secretary, Dr Shuaib Belgore said the ministry is pushing for sustainable and inclusive housing delivery through stronger institutional systems.
Governor Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto of Sokoto State will serve as Special Guest of Honour.
The Sokoto council meeting is expected to produce new resolutions that will guide land reforms, speed up land title issuance and strengthen mortgage institutions to make affordable housing possible across the country.
