Dangiwa: N5.5tn Required Annually to Bridge Nigeria’s Housing Deficit

*Reps back minister’s request for N500bn minimum annual budget

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa, yesterday disclosed that Nigeria will need about N5.5 trillion annually to build roughly 55,000 housing units every year if the country aspires to close the current  housing deficit in the next 10 years.
Speaking in Abuja when he received members of the House of Representatives Committee on Housing and Habitat led by Abdulmumin Jibrin, Dangiwa requested that for a start, Nigeria could begin by budgeting at least N500 billion for the sector annually.

Stressing that the state of housing in Nigeria still has broad challenges, he explained that Nigeria does not only have inadequate housing supply to meet the population growth, but that many of if the existing ones were substandard.
Dangiwa stated that addressing the housing challenge in Nigeria will involve a combination of not only newly built houses, but a renewal and a slum upgrade programme.

Being a low income country, the minister said that Nigeria has a high cost of building materials problem, with 85 per cent  of Nigerians, which is 43 million households, having less than N1.1 million purchasing power per annum.
Quoting a recent PwC housing survey, Dangiwa said that 75 per cent or 31.6 million of the 42 million housing units were substandard.
He added that 97 per cent of land is still unregistered, which means that over $300 billion is still characterised as dead capital, coupled with high construction cost, importation of building materials, inflation, low access to mortgage, among others.

He argued that if the 97 per cent of land was registered, people could use the land to acquire credit, listing the ongoing renewed hope cities as well as renewed hope estates as some of the ongoing programmes of the ministry.
The minister also called for a review of the Land Use Act, listing other challenges as N300 billion unpaid liabilities, inadequate budgetary allocation, untimely release of funds, shortage of manpower as well as problems with office accommodation.
He explained that there are currently over 300 ongoing cases of litigations of which some have been concluded,  but with payment of some lawyers still pending.
“Even though some of them you have started addressing them for us, there is a massive historic mismatch between the housing and urban development needs of our country versus the budget adequacy.

“Because for the population of over 200 million Nigerians, whose growth is 2.5 per cent growth annually, you find that you need 55,000 housing units annually over the next 10 years to meet the housing deficit. These 55,000 houses per annum means you need N5.5 trillion per annum if the houses are N10 million each.
“So all these cannot come from the government, this N5.5 trillion. However, we must do more as a government in terms of additional allocations to housing and urban development,” Dangiwa stated.
He acknowledged that there had been a massive historic housing deficit and mismatch between the housing and urban development needs of the country versus budgetary provision.

“In the 2023 supplementary budget we got N100 billion. In the 2024 we received approval for about N80 billion. This is a far cry from what is needed to make a difference.

“To enable the ministry and the current government to make a historic difference in housing delivery, we are seeking your support for an increase in the annual budgetary allocation to a minimum of N500 billion budgetary allocation per annum for the renewed hope cities and estates programme,” he added.

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, the Committee Chairman, Jibrin, pledged the  total support of the members for the ministry to be able to increase it’s budgetary allocation to N500 billion.

“And let me also say, by that increment, we are not doing them a favour. It is in line with the housing policy thrust of the present administration. So if we are to achieve the policy thrust the way it is defined in the renewal agenda, then we will need that amount. If they will not need it, we will say they do not need it.

“Perhaps they will need even more, but let’s start with N500 billion. There is also the regulatory framework. We will have to support the housing ministry to be able to get certain exemptions,  presidential waivers, otherwise they will not be able to move as quickly as possible and as efficiently as they should move,” Jibrin added.