The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has acknowledged that the government alone cannot meet the housing needs of Nigerians.
Therefore, he emphasized the importance of creating favorable conditions for the private sector to contribute.
Fashola made this admission during the unveiling of the National Housing Strategy Blueprint at the ministry’s headquarters on Friday.
The blueprint, a comprehensive 10-year plan, aims to consolidate various housing initiatives by different stakeholders into a unified National Housing Strategy.
While the current administration has implemented numerous affordable housing programs, the minister acknowledged that the private sector has been more successful in delivering homes.
He emphasized that the private sector is the true driving force behind housing solutions in the country and that the blueprint will harness the potential of private capital in the industry.
According to Fashola, “There is nothing the government does in the housing sector that outperforms what the private sector can do. Whether it is the state or federal government, private capital has the capacity to provide more houses. When considering land ownership, apart from the state government, the federal government does not possess as much land as the private sector collectively holds.”
Regarding the blueprint, Fashola, a former governor of Lagos, explained that it was crucial for establishing a path to housing provision for the next decade.
He also emphasized the need for accurate data and expressed confidence that the upcoming population census would reveal the true extent of the housing problems in the country.
In his presentation, Emmanuel Etaderhi, the Senior Vice President of the Financial Market Dealers Quotation Group, outlined the five key pillars of the policy: affordability, standardization, accessibility, suitability for the population, and sustainability in providing quality housing for all Nigerians.
He highlighted the potential of the housing value chain to support sustainable economic growth and development, suggesting that reforming land administration and titling procedures could unlock an estimated $300 billion worth of previously untapped assets.