From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, has said that despite the robust housing plans by successive governments in over 60 years, the nation is yet to meet the shelter needs of the citizens.
Dangiwa said this at the inauguration of the housing reform task teams in Abuja recently.
According to him; “We have witnessed successive governments roll-out a series of housing development plans and policies. Despite these many plans, our country has sadly failed to meet the housing needs of Nigerians as we still grapple with a huge housing deficit. Housing sector contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) hasn’t moved in any significant way over the past several decades. Housing development institutions are still only functioning at sub-optimal capacities, and the enabling housing laws are obsolete.
“Researchers and experts have stated clearly that most of the housing plans and policies since Independence failed to deliver the expected results due in large part to a lack of political will on the side of the government” he lamented.
However, he said that President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Vision targets building a 1trillion-dollar economy, in whichhousing will occupy a paramount position.
“This means undertaking comprehensive housing sector reforms that will ensure that systemic and prevalent issues that have caused under development are fixed; all legal impediments are removed, and the institutional frameworks of housing agencies necessary to ensure that they deliver optimally on their mandates to deliver decent and affordable housing to Nigerians are reviewed and upgraded,” he assured.