Considering Nigeria’s huge housing deficit with the supply of affordable homes plummeting despite increasing population, the Africa International Housing Show (AIHS) has concluded plans to hold a roundtable meeting with Housing Commissioners across the federation at the 16th edition of its housing and construction expo, to chart a new path to financing affordable homes in the country.
Others to partake in the meeting are members of the African Union of Housing Finance (AUHF), Non-interest banks, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), and the Family Homes Funds (FHF).
In a statement released in Abuja on Wednesday, the convener of the event, Mr. Festus Adebayo says the proposed meeting is part of deliberate efforts to tackle the nation’s housing gap using the bottom-up approach.
“Over time, we’ve been channeling our voices to the Federal government and political aspirants. It’s important we engage State commissioners of housing as they are also major stakeholders who are charged with the responsibility to plan, devise and implement Housing policies in their various states.
“Nigeria has a huge housing deficit. The demand for affordable homes far outstrips supply. Based on the 17 million homes deficit in the country, about 700,000 housing units annually, spanning 20 years, are required to accommodate the rising population.
“The history does not look good. From 1972, when the 2nd National Housing Policy (NHP) was launched until 2012, less than 200,000 housing units have been delivered across the country”, he revealed.
Comparing Nigeria to Singapore, Adebayo said “we could only deliver 74,604 housing units in 33 years, about 2,260 homes a year. Whereas in Singapore, the government delivered about 686,894 dwellings in 33 years, about 20,814 a year. This is to tell us that we still have a long way to go, hence the need to task our state commissioners and other key stakeholders on a feasible housing scheme that will cater for all and sundry.”
While reiterating that the government should consider affordable housing as a social contract and not an immediate profit-generating venture, he charged all housing commissioners across the federation to be part of the AIHS special engagement with a view to solving the nation’s housing challenges.
Adebayo says affordable housing is a collaborative effort, with the Federal, State, and Local Governments supporting the private sector to provide affordable housing for Nigerians.
“It’s critical we agree on a methodology and process to cycle funds into housing”, he added.
