Illustrative image: Residential apartment blocks in a Nigerian housing estate. Photo: Kaustavp, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The Federal Government has unveiled a plan to build 100 housing units in each of Nigeria's 774 local government areas as it moves to confront the country's deepening housing deficit.
Housing and Urban Development Minister Muttaka Rabe Darma also disclosed that the government is considering raising the national mortgage cap from N50m to N85m to make home ownership more accessible to Nigerian workers.
Under the proposal, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria would fund no less than 70 per cent of the housing scheme, with beneficiaries expected to repay through structured mortgage arrangements.
The plan comes against the backdrop of sobering figures: about 14.5 million Nigerians are estimated to lack adequate shelter, while a further 15.5 million live in housing classified as unsafe.
Members of the National Assembly have thrown their weight behind the initiative, with the House Committee on Housing pushing for wider coverage and stronger funding safeguards.
Lawmakers, including the committee chairman Awaji-Inombek Dagomie, have been engaging the ministry on implementation details, insisting the scheme must reach ordinary earners rather than the affluent.
Housing experts have welcomed the unit-per-LGA approach as a way to spread development across all states, but warn that land acquisition, infrastructure costs and off-taker affordability will determine whether the target is met.
A mortgage cap increase to N85m would be a significant shift for the national housing fund scheme, which currently caps loans at N50m, and could widen the pool of eligible applicants seeking FMBN-backed mortgages.
Details of the financing model, timelines and selection criteria are still being worked out by the ministry and its partners.
Source: The PUNCH
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