The Federal Government has announced plans to construct 100 social housing units in each local government area across Nigeria as part of efforts to reduce the country’s housing deficit and expand access to affordable accommodation.

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mr Muttaka Rabe Darma, disclosed this at the closing ceremony of the 15th National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development held in Sokoto State on Thursday.

Darma also said the government was considering increasing the maximum mortgage financing limit from ₦50 million to ₦85 million to help more Nigerians purchase homes amid rising construction costs.

He said the proposed social housing programme would prioritise low-income earners, including primary school teachers and other workers who spend much of their working lives in rented accommodation because they cannot afford to build or purchase houses.

The minister said the government was committed to ensuring that Nigerians on modest incomes could access decent and affordable homes.

To improve access to housing finance, Darma said the government had directed the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria to disburse at least 70 per cent of its annual collections to support housing loans.

He added that the government was working towards establishing a National Housing Finance Authority to strengthen regulation, coordination and accountability in the housing finance sector.

The minister also announced plans to introduce a mortgage programme for Nigerians in the diaspora, allowing them to acquire homes in locations of their choice.

On land administration, he said a centralised land management system was being developed to enable prospective property buyers to verify ownership and determine whether land was subject to legal disputes without travelling to the relevant states.

Darma further stressed the need to make mortgage financing accessible to informal-sector workers, many of whom earn incomes and own land but struggle to qualify for conventional housing loans.

The Sokoto State Commissioner for Lands and Housing, Barrister Nasiru Dantsoho, said the successful hosting of the council meeting reflected the support provided by the state government.

He commended Governor Ahmed Aliyu for providing the financial and administrative backing required for the event, adding that the council’s deliberations would contribute to stronger housing institutions and improved accommodation delivery.

Dantsoho cited figures indicating that 14.5 million Nigerians lacked shelter, while another 15.5 million lived in unsafe environments. He called for sustainable policies and institutions to address the country’s housing challenges.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Housing and Urban Development, Mr Awaji-Inombek Dagomie, urged federal and state governments to prioritise affordable, long-term mortgage financing for low- and middle-income earners.

Dagomie said high interest rates remained a major obstacle to homeownership and advocated mortgage loans at single-digit interest rates to make repayments more manageable.

He also called for increased investment in high-rise residential buildings, particularly in urban centres where expensive land significantly raises housing costs. He said multi-storey developments could spread land costs across more housing units and potentially reduce overall accommodation expenses.

The lawmaker advocated the digitalisation and simplification of land registration processes to improve transparency and reduce delays in property transactions.

He also proposed introducing a unique national identification number for every building to improve property records, strengthen accountability and help authorities track ownership.

Dagomie said such a system could improve housing statistics, address concealed property ownership and support the administration of estates belonging to deceased persons.

He further called for stricter enforcement of development control regulations, warning that poor urban planning and weak enforcement contributed to flooding in cities such as Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja.

The lawmaker urged the government to encourage the use of locally sourced building materials to reduce construction costs, stressing that improved mortgage financing, land administration and urban planning were essential to expanding access to decent housing.