FG mulls N500bn housing budget for 2025

The Federal Government says it is liaising with the National Assembly leadership to increase its annual housing budget to a minimum of N500 billion starting with the 2025 budget cycle.

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, revealed this to State House Correspondents on Monday at the maiden edition of Meet the Press, a weekly engagement forum organised by the Presidential Digital Strategy and Communications team.

Dangiwa argued that the appeal became necessary as the N50bn annual budget for housing is “grossly inadequate” compared to the yearly N5.5tn required to address the housing deficit.

Therefore, “This would allow us to expand housing projects to cover the remaining 18 states and increase the unit count per state from 250 to at least 500,” he affirmed.

This forms part of a four-pronged funding strategy to finance its Renewed Homes Initiative.

He explained, “Financing housing construction is expensive. So, we have devised creative and diversified funding strategies to create an impact under the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President.

“While pursuing PPPs [Public-Private Partnerships], the government must also increase funding for the Renewed Hope Housing Programme. As a Ministry, we have championed this advocacy, and there is now widespread recognition that the current N50bn annual budget for housing is grossly inadequate compared to the N5.5 trillion required annually to address the housing deficit.

Therefore, we have engaged the National Assembly leadership and received their support for increasing the annual housing budget to a minimum of N500bn, starting with the 2025 budget cycle.”

Dangiwa enumerated the funding routes, noting that first, the current N50bn budgetary provision funds only 12 Renewed Hope Estates through the 2023 supplementary budget, with an additional N27.2bn allocated in 2024 for infrastructure completion. He said the Ministry plans to expand these projects in the 2025 budget.

Second, Public-Private Partnerships are being used to fund the Karsana Renewed Hope City project, where a N100bn bankable guarantee from the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria enabled developers to raise over N40bn in financing. This PPP model, he said, aims to cater to high- and middle-income earners, while budget-funded Renewed Hope Estates provide more affordable options for low- and middle-income groups.

The Minister emphasised that while PPPs address housing needs for specific income levels, they cannot alone bridge the significant housing deficit, estimated at 550,000 units annually.

Consequently, he underscored the importance of increasing the government’s annual housing budget, revealing that discussions with the National Assembly have secured support for a minimum N500bn allocation beginning in 2025.

Additionally, the Ministry is finalising a partnership with Shelter Afrique Development Bank to finance 5,000 housing units with a N50bn investment, marking a milestone as the first direct collaboration with the Pan-African institution. Lastly, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria is contributing low-cost funding to Renewed Hope Cities to ensure more affordable housing options for lower-income Nigerians, further balancing the diverse needs of citizens.

Dangiwa also announced the establishment of the National Social Housing Fund, which aims to ensure that all Nigerians, especially low-income earners and vulnerable and underprivileged groups, have access to decent and dignified housing.

To this end, the Ministry is finalising a memo for the FederalExecutiveCouncil and an Executive Bill to the NationalAssembly to formalise the creation of the NSHF before the end of 2025.