Ms. Leilana Fartha, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Adequate Housing, on Monday, urged the Federal Government to impose tax on vacant houses with a view to addressing housing challenges in the country.
Fartha at a news conference in Abuja expressed concern over the human rights crisis presented by poor living conditions in Nigeria’s informal settlements, adding that the informal settlements house about 69 per cent of the urban population.
She said: “Most residents in Nigeria’s ballooning informal settlements live without access to even the most basic services, like running water. “And they lack any security of tenure, forcing them to live in constant fear of being evicted.
“My 10 days fact findings visit to Nigeria has presented an economic inequality in the country, which has reached extreme level and is playing itself out clearly in the housing sector. “There is an estimated housing shortage of 22 million units.
“At the same time, newly built luxury dwellings are springing up throughout cities and made possible often through the forced eviction of poor communities. “These units do not fulfill any housing need, with many remaining vacant as vehicles for money laundering or investment,’’ she said.
While urging the Federal Government to take urgent measures to address homelessness and poverty, Fartha advocated for a declaration of a nation-wide moratorium on forced evictions.
“Government must address the grossly inadequate housing conditions with the urgency and rigor befitting a human rights crisis of this scale.
“Apart from establishing a national commission to investigate gross human rights violations in the context of forced evictions, government should provide basic services to all informal settlements. “And must increase the number of shelters for persons in situations of vulnerability,’’ Fartha said.
Source: NAN