By Oyintutu Oyinkolade
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to expanding access to affordable housing and regenerating urban communities to improve living conditions across the country.
The Minister of state for Housing and Urban Development, Mr Yusuf Ata, made this known at the commemoration of the 2026 World Habitat Day and World Cities Day in Abuja on Monday.
The event, with the themes, “Adequate Housing for All” and “Regenerating the City: Adequate Housing for All”, highlighted the need for inclusive housing and sustainable urban development.
Ata, represented by his Special Adviser on International Cooperation, Dr Edna Tobi, said the government was implementing interventions to increase housing supply, improve affordability and strengthen housing finance.
According to him, the Federal Government, under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, recognises housing as a social necessity and an important driver of economic growth, employment creation and national development.
“The ministry is implementing a number of interventions aimed at increasing housing supply, improving affordability, strengthening housing finance and creating an enabling environment for private-sector participation.
“The Federal Government is also strengthening collaboration with state governments, federal housing institutions, financial institutions, developers and other stakeholders to achieve housing delivery at scale.
“Under the emerging framework for state participation, states are encouraged to provide land and supporting infrastructure while federal institutions provide financing, technical and project-delivery support,” he said.
Ata said that the ministry was prioritising the completion of viable ongoing and abandoned housing projects, rehabilitation of existing housing assets and transparent allocation of completed houses to deserving beneficiaries.
He described urban regeneration as an opportunity to renew declining neighbourhoods, upgrade informal settlements, improve infrastructure and enhance residents’ quality of life.
“Such regeneration must be people-centred and participatory, with appropriate safeguards to minimise displacement and ensure that existing communities benefit from improvements,” he said.
He called for stronger collaboration among the three tiers of government, development partners, financial institutions, professional bodies and the private sector to address Nigeria’s housing and urbanisation challenges.
Also speaking, Niina Rinne, Chief Technical Adviser and Head of the UN-Habitat Nigeria Country Office, said adequate housing involved more than constructing buildings, stressing the importance of access to essential services and infrastructure.
Rinne said Nigeria’s rapid population growth and urbanisation were creating increasing demand for housing, land, infrastructure and essential services.
She said that housing delivery must be supported by proper urban planning, effective institutions and coordinated investments.
“Housing must be safe, affordable and well located, with access to basic services, infrastructure, employment, public transport and public spaces.
“We can not address the housing challenge simply by constructing more houses. We must also plan better neighbourhoods and better cities,” she said.
She called for integrated urban and territorial planning, effective land management and stronger urban governance as essential foundations for adequate housing.
The UN-Habitat official also called for investments in existing neighbourhoods and informal settlements through improved drainage, safer streets, public spaces and climate resilience.
She reaffirmed UN-Habitat’s commitment to supporting Nigeria in making urbanisation a driver of inclusive, resilient and sustainable development.(NAN)
Edited by Kadiri Abdulrahman
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