From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Following the spate of demolition in the country, especially in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), a report by the HipCity Innovation Centre has claimed that Nigeria was in need of 20 million housing units to bridge the deficit.
It said the eviction and demolition must be the last resort of the government if temporary accommodation would not be provided for the victims.
According to the centre’s Executive Director, Bassey Bassey, at the launch of an app to track demolition and the causes, yesterday, in Abuja, over 1,000 houses had been demolished so far across the country.
Bassey said the low cost of housing unit pegged at N39 million by the Federal Government was beyond the reach of ordinary civil servants.
He said: “We have about 20 million housing deficit in Nigeria and for every house that we demolish, it means we are sending more Nigerians into hopelessness, destitution and displacement.
“You know that when one loses a home, every other thing is destabilised. You will not have access to go to your place of work because you have been dislocated and disrupted. Your children will be out of school. When government embarks on demolition they do not provide alternatives. “Do we have low cost housing? What alternatives are they providing for this people?
“Low cost houses are not actually low. The current renewed hope scheme that is being floated by the current administration, the cheapest on the website is about N39 million. How many Nigerians can afford it?
“If we are not providing houses, eviction and demolition should be the last strategy that we must use in providing accommodation.
“There is no statistics or data to show how many demotions have happened in Abuja. But certain organisations have carried out some research spanning 2003 to 2024.
“So far, over a thousand houses in 300 communities have suffered one form of eviction or the other and demolished…”
Beyond one form of eviction, we have individuals who have suffered this demolition not just in Abuja but across Nigeria. The web reporting and tracker is to help us understand the motive beyond demolition.
“The law is clear as to how eviction should happen and what should happen before demolition. So, we want to track the trend and the motive beyond eviction and demolition in Abuja and across the country.
“We believe when this information is documented it gives us an insight on how to engage government knowing fully well that housing is already in deficit in the country.”
Meanwhile, he said the Know Your Area Council (KYAC) initiative “aims to bridge the gap between councils and citizens by providing FCT residents with the information they need to hold their elected leaders accountable, advocate basic services, and assess the impact of council projects.
“KYAC will produce and disseminate performance scorecards for chairmen and councillors, evaluate the impact of council projects on local communities, and offer platforms for council executives to report on their activities.
“Additionally, KYAC will document the history, challenges, and achievements of councils while fostering civic engagement among potential candidates for the 2026 council elections.”