Property and Environment Writers Association of Nigeria (PEWAN), has conferred an Award of Recognition on the Honourable Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa as a consistent champion of accessible mortgage and affordable housing.
PEWAN is a sub group of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), which unites dedicated Journalists drawn from print, electronic and online media platforms covering Property, Real Estate, Works, Construction, and Environment sectors.
The occassion of the award under the Chairmanship of Bldr. Kunle Awobodu, former President, Nigerian Institute of Builders (NIOB), took place at the conference room of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, Thursday November 28th, 2024.
Recipient of other categories of awards include amongst others; Alhaji Shehu Osidi, Managing Director, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria; Odinayo Ojo, a Real Estate Professional; Sam Ogrih, MD/CEO, Delta Mega-Trend Nigeria Ltd and Arc. Gbolahan Owodunni Oki, General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA).
The 2024 PEWAN Annual Lecture and Awards has the themes;
“Resolving the Financial and Regulatory Dilemma to Achieve Renewed Hope Agenda on Housing”
“The Role of FHA, Private Sector Operators in improving Housing Supply”
“The place of Affordable Mortgage, Building Materials in Catalysing Demand and Supply”
In a keynote address, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, who was the special guest at the conference, stated that the federal government was working towards closing the housing deficit and enhancing housing affordability for all Nigerians through the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme, other reforms and initiatives introduced by the Housing Ministry.
The Minister was represented at the conference by the Director Press and Public Relations of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Salisu Badamasi Haiba.
Dangiwa commended the Chairman of PEWAN and team for the bold initiative to advance the conversation around financing to construct affordable houses for Nigerians, as well as a regulatory framework that supports housing development.
He mentioned that 550, 000 housing units was needed annually to cope with the increasing population and address the housing deficit in Nigeria, which some sources put at over 18 million units, and requires an annual budget of N5.5 trillion at an average of N10 million per unit.
Accordingly, he said that, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development under his watch has recorded significant strides which include; the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme which aims to deliver 50,000 housing units under the first phase, having one city in each of the six (6) geopolitical zones and the FCT, and the Estates, one in each of the remaining 30 states.
He also explained that there are currently 14 active construction sites nationwide under the programme with a total of 10,112 housing units which comprises 250 housing units each in the Renewed Hope Estates, across 12 states.
The Minister disclosed that a significant number of the units were close to completion, expressing optimism that 1,000 units of the Renewed Hope City in Abuja would be commissioned in December by Mr. President, announcing access to purchase of the houses through the web portal: (https://renewedhopehomes.fmhud.gov.ng.)
He acknowledged the role of housing construction in job creation and poverty alleviation, stating that the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme has directly and indirectly generated over 252,800 jobs for Nigerians, including skilled and unskilled workers at an average of 25 jobs per house, thereby making a huge impact on the nation’s economy.
On financing for the projects, Arc. Dangiwa notified the participants of a range of creative and diversified funding strategies that the Ministry has adopted, which includes; the ₦50 billion 2023 Supplementary Budget, and an additional ₦27.2 billion allocated in the 2024 budget; a Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) arrangement for the Renewed Hope Cities which targets the high and middle income earners.
“While pursuing PPPs, the government must also increase funding for the Renewed Hope Housing Programme. As a Ministry, we have championed this advocacy, and there is now widespread recognition that the current N50 billion annual budget for housing is grossly inadequate compared to the N5.5 trillion required annually to address the housing deficit”.
“Therefore, we have engaged the National Assembly leadership and received their support for increasing the annual housing budget to a minimum of N500 billion, starting with the 2025 budget cycle”, Dangiwa explained.
Other funding strategies according to the Minister are: partnership with Shelter Afrique Development Bank for the financing of 5,000 housing units under phase one, representing an estimated investment of ₦50 billion, contributions from the Ministry’s Agencies Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and The Federal Housing Authority (FHA), as well as the National National Social Housing Fund (NSHF) which targets the Low and no income, vulnerable and underprivileged.
Furthermore in the area of regulations, the Minister said efforts were ongoing to strengthen the institutional and regulatory frameworks of the ministry and its agencies, also pointing out the work being done in the area of land administration to review the Land Use Act of 1978 which is now obsolete.
To this effect, he recalled the Four Reform Task Teams inaugurated earlier this year by the Ministry, to help provide the framework for driving the implementation of the Ministry’s plans, stating that the Land Reforms Task Team was charged to build a framework for effective land administration in Nigeria, as well as the proposed establishment of the National Land Commission to operationalize the Act.
Accordingly, Arc. Dangiwa brought the participants up to speed with the new framework for fair and equitable compensation rates for crops and economic trees, that ensures adequate recompense for persons affected by government projects, launched at the 2024 National Technical Development Forum on Land Administration.
Other initiatives outlined by the Minister includes the impending National Land Registration, Documentation and Titling Programme which together with state governments, aims to register, document, and title all land parcels in the country; as well as the enhancement of the Electronic Certificate of Occupancy (e-C of O) and Land Titling System for all federal government owned lands across Nigeria.
On the menace of building collapse in the Country, Dangiwa informed of the recently inaugurated Builders Disciplinary Tribunal in collaboration with the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) that would determine cases of infraction by members of the council and the built community, so as to ensure that built professionals adhere to global standards.
He further charged participants of the conference to engage fully, take the ideas and insights, and leave with the resolve to make tangible differences in housing delivery in Nigeria, while also assuring PEWAN of the Ministry’s keenness to ideas and collaborations that would help fix the systemic challenges and expand quality housing to all.
Earlier in her opening remarks, Chairman of PEWAN, Mrs Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie, said that the conference was organised to provide opportunity for experts and stakeholders in the real estate sector to chart pathways towards increasing housing provision in the country to bridge the housing deficit estimated at 28 million.
Signed
Oluseyi Kate Nwachuku
Assistant Director Press
