Nigeria requires N3.65 trillion annually to address housing deficit

Former MD of the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company, Professor Charles Inyangete, has disclosed that to forestall a housing crisis in the country in the next few years, Nigeria would require N3.65 trillion to increase housing stock by 730,000 units annually.

Speaking at a facility management forum in Abuja, Inyangete said the country currently has a housing deficit of 21 million units, adding that going by the current growth rate in Nigeria, there would be a significant housing deficit in the coming years, unless efforts are geared towards addressing the gap.

Inyangete argued that in total, the country would require $363 billion, about N111.08 trillion to meet current housing deficit in the country.

He added that Nigeria is faced with poor infrastructure not only in the area of inadequate housing, but also in access to electricity and internet facility as well as poor road network.

He said: “Only 25% of our population has access to electricity; 51% of Nigerians have access to internet; while only 18% of Nigerian roads are paved. This poor infrastructure poses serious challenges for the country.”

Inyangete said poor infrastructure is reducing national economic growth by 2% and business productivity by 40%. To this end, he said facility managers have a crucial role to play in addressing these challenges, adding that professionals are expected to enhance their contribution to the sustainable cities agenda and also develop tools for the purpose of monitoring the performance of facilities.

To bridge this gap, he noted that efforts should be geared towards opening the capital market to enable facility managers raise funds seamlessly, as this would deepen their contribution to building sustainable cities.

He added that “Government cannot do it alone. There is increasing need for public private partnership to address Nigeria’s economic growth.”