A housing reform team comprising of experts and stakeholders has been formed by the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, to create a strong housing sector framework and guarantee that housing agencies under the Ministry’s control are improved to offer affordable homes to Nigerians.
According to a statement made by the ministry’s director of information, Badamasi Haiba, the Land Use Act of 1978, the National Housing Fund Act of 1992, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria Establishment Act of 1993, and the Federal Housing Authority Act of 1973, among other necessary legislative amendments, would be discussed by the reform team, the minister disclosed this information at a meeting at the Ministry’s Abuja headquarters with a group from the Housing Development Advocacy Network (HDAN) led by Mr. Ugochukwu Obiora Chime,
He asserted that, the reform team will include of members from HDAN, organizations, trade associations, and universities in order to provide a strong foundation for the housing sector’s reform by carefully examining pertinent legislation.
With an emphasis on improving efficiency, openness, and accountability, the team’s duties will include organising all prior reform blueprints, white papers for the agencies, and identifying areas in need of change.
Regarding housing statistics, he revealed that a taskforce inside the ministry had been established and was collaborating with the National Population Commission to create survey instruments that would tackle housing-related inquiries in the next population and housing census.
“The Presidential Technical Committee on Land Reforms was invited, and we met with them. We now have access to their extensive 14-year history of work on land reforms in our nation. The creation of the National Land Commission, which will lay out the rules and regulations for operationalizing the Land Use Act of 1978, is one of the important recommendations made by the Internal Ministerial Committee that we immediately established to review and include in our land reforms strategy.
“Sponsors will include the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s budgetary allocation, and through Public Private Partnerships with reputable developers,” the statement reads. The choices for ownership are outright purchase, rent-to-own, and mortgage financing. He added.
The head of the HDAN delegation, Ugochukwu Chime, earlier stated that the ministry had the potential to be the largest engine room for creating jobs because it was the blueprint for the nation’s vast socioeconomic development
