The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Dr Muttaqha Rabe-Darma, disclosed this on Thursday at the 15th National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development in Sokoto, where he announced plans to increase the maximum mortgage loan from ₦50m to ₦85m.
Rabe-Darma said the government was targeting 2,000 mortgages in 2026, with the figure expected to rise to 5,000 by 2028.
He added that the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria had been directed to disburse at least 70 per cent of the previous year’s National Housing Fund contributions through mortgages annually.
The proposed allocation for informal-sector workers is intended to address the difficulties many face in obtaining housing finance because of irregular incomes and limited access to conventional lending arrangements.
The minister said the reforms would help bridge the gap between workers’ contributions to the National Housing Fund and the delivery of housing finance.
He also announced plans to establish a National Housing Finance Authority to strengthen regulation, improve accountability and coordinate activities in the housing finance sector.
Rabe-Darma said the recently launched Diaspora Mortgage Programme would give Nigerians living abroad opportunities to invest in homeownership in the country.
He added that the government was working towards constructing 100 housing units in each of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas, stressing that building houses must be matched with a functional mortgage system that enables citizens to purchase them.
Citing Rwanda’s experience, the minister said Nigeria could learn from countries that had expanded access to housing finance through institutional reforms and mortgage refinancing mechanisms.
He urged housing institutions and other stakeholders to support the proposed changes, noting that transparency and effective implementation would be critical to making mortgages more accessible to low- and middle-income earners.
Sokoto State Governor Ahmad Aliyu said housing was more than the provision of shelter, describing it as essential to human dignity, security and family stability.
He listed the 500-unit Sokoto New City Housing Project and shelters for internally displaced persons being developed with the United Nations Development Programme among the state’s housing initiatives.
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Urban Development and Regional Planning, Awaji-Inombek Abiante, called for single-digit mortgage interest rates, a review of housing prices and more transparent land registration processes.
Abiante also advocated effective development control, a National Housing Identification Number and greater use of locally sourced building materials to reduce construction costs.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, urged the government to give greater consideration to low-income earners in its housing programmes and pledged the support of traditional rulers for relevant policies.
The meeting brought together ministers, state commissioners for housing and heads of housing agencies to deliberate on the report of the Permanent Secretaries’ meeting. Its resolutions are expected to guide stakeholders in accelerating inclusive housing delivery across the country.
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