FG To Build 80,000 Affordable Houses For Nigerians In Four Years

The Federal Government through the Ministry of Works and Housing, FMWH, has disclosed that it will be building 80,000 houses for Nigerians in the next four years.

The move according to the Permanent Secretary FMWH, Mahmuda Mamman was to curtail the housing deficit in the country.

Mamman while speaking to newsmen at the 12th Meeting of the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development in Kaduna state on Monday, however said in the next four years, the vulnerable population will be able to afford a roof over their heads through an affordable amount.

“The ministry has presented a memo, and Mr President has graciously approved it, particularly about the social housing scheme and it is going to breach the gap in the housing sector.

“The houses are about 80,000, and the affordability varies because standards vary. And what we are trying to do is to build houses for all land units, irrespective of their classes, irrespective of where they come from.

“So, the prices of the houses also depend on the income structure of the individual that is going to subscribe to that housing policy,” Mamman said.

Revealing how the process will be actualized, he said the ministry has reached all state governments to make available lands for the policy.

“At this council meeting, we will see how this government will key in. We have already written letters to the various state governments asking them to give us a portion of unoccupied lands so that we can be able to build these affordable houses for us to benefit and for all Nigerians” he revealed.

Mamman added that although the FG is faced with challenges of resources, it is also keen to meet the set-out target.

He said, “Our resources are limited but we need to prioritize what our needs are, with time, we can be able to deliver because it is a matter of right and not a privilege, and that’s why the administration is bringing things differently”.

Mamman also revealed that currently, the ministry does not have a cumulative figure for the housing deficit, but it is working with the National Population Commission to actualize that.

“We are surveying in conjunction with the NPC and without us concluding that, and if you ask me to give you, I cannot be able to give you an accurate figure about the national housing deficit. But as soon as we conclude the survey the figure will be known” he said.

Recall that the International Human Rights Commission said that Nigeria has an estimated 28 million housing deficit as of 2023, indicating that the country needs at least 28 million housing units to provide adequately for the population.