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From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Minister of Housing and Urban Development Ahmed Musa Dangiwa has said that despite the housing plans by successive governments, over the 60 years of Nigeria’s independence, the nation is yet to meet the housing needs of the people.
Dangiwa said this at the inauguration of the housing reform task teams in Abuja.
According to him, despite the nation’s plans to close up the deficit gap, Nigeria has not succeeded in meeting the housing needs of the people.
“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, in his Renewed Hope Vision Target of building a 1trillion-dollar economy, housing will occupy a paramount position.
“The good news now is that our President, His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, recognises that to achieve the Renewed Hope Vision Target of building a 1trillion-dollar economy, housing must be prioritised. 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.
