Housing gap: N55trn investment required over 10 years in Nigeria

Business a.m. reporter

The federal government has disclosed that Nigeria’s housing deficit will require a massive annual investment of N5.5 trillion to bridge the gap between the growing demand for housing and the limited supply over the next ten years.

The government also estimates that roughly 550,000 housing units will be necessary to meet the increasing housing needs of the country’s population, which is currently standing at over 220 million and growing at a rate of 2.5 percent annually.

Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, minister of housing and urban development, stated this recently in Abuja during a special press briefing to commemorate his first anniversary in office.

Speaking on the ministry’s strategy to solve the housing shortage in the country, Dangiwa noted that he alongside Abdullahi Gwarzo, the minister of state for housing, are working towards developing an action plan towards addressing the country’s housing deficit, in alignment with President Bola Tinubu’s key priorities and goals.

Dangiwa stated: “I pointed out that from research, Nigeria’s population is over 220 million with a growth rate of 2.5% p.a. requires about 550,000 units over the next ten years to meet the housing deficit. I also noted that this would require about N5.5 trillion per annum to be fixed.

“While I acknowledge that these cannot come from the government and that we are working on PPPs and other sources of housing finance to bridge the gap, it is necessary for the government to do more in terms of budgetary allocation to Housing & Urban Development.

“On this basis, we made a solemn plea for a financial allocation of at least N500 billion per year for the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme so that we can have a greater effect and provide more Nigerians with adequate shelter. I am pleased to report that this was warmly accepted by all National Assembly Committees. This implies, God willing, we will triple our influence in the second year,” he stated.

Recognising that increased budgetary allocation alone would not be sufficient to bridge the country’s vast housing gap, Dangiwa noted that the ministry is committed to investigating and leveraging a diverse range of housing financing mechanisms.

These methods, he explained, could potentially provide additional sources of funding to support the construction of new housing units, thus contributing to the solution of the ongoing housing shortage in Nigeria.

The minister also disclosed that his ministry was in the process of negotiating a housing development partnership with Shelter Afrique Development Bank.

He also informed that under the terms of this partnership, the Pan-African Housing Institute, a key component of Shelter Afrique, would provide advisory services and finance to qualified developers for the renewed hope programme, a government initiative aimed at addressing the housing shortage in Nigeria.

The minister added: “We may not have a financial war chest, but we do have leverage as a government. For far too long, we have failed to fully use our connections with bilateral and international institutions, including those in which we have significant interests.

“We’ve seen smaller African countries take use of these housing development agencies to improve housing for their citizens while we stand by. “We’ve taken steps to change this in the last year.”