In a renewed push to confront Nigeria’s deepening housing crisis, the Federal Government has rolled out a fresh national strategy aimed at expanding access to affordable homes and building more sustainable cities across the country.
The approach, built around land reform, urban renewal and stronger collaboration with the private sector, was unveiled in Ilorin on Monday during the 14th National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development meeting.
Presenting the position of the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics in the ministry, Alhaji Mukhtar Ilyasu, said the scale of Nigeria’s housing shortage demands urgent and coordinated action.
He noted that the country’s housing deficit — estimated to run into tens of millions of units — has continued to widen due to rapid urbanisation, population growth and weak land administration systems.
According to the minister, the new strategy seeks to remove long-standing bottlenecks in land acquisition, promote urban regeneration in decaying city centres and encourage the use of locally sourced building materials to reduce construction costs.
Dangiwa explained that public–private partnerships would serve as a major driver of the plan, allowing government resources to be complemented by private capital, technical expertise and innovation.
The theme of the 2025 council meeting, “Achieving Housing Delivery and Sustainable Cities through Effective Land Management, Urban Renewal, Promotion of Local Building Materials, and Public–Private Partnerships in Nigeria,” reflects the direction of the reforms, he added.
Participants at the meeting were urged to align state-level policies with the national framework to ensure consistent implementation across the federation.
The Federal Government expressed optimism that with improved land governance and private-sector participation, the new housing strategy could gradually ease pressure on urban centres and improve living conditions for millions of Nigerians.
