WorldStage– The Federal Government of Nigeria has said that it is prioritising land administration reforms to expand access to affordable housing for low-income earners and informal workers across the country.
The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqha Darma, stated this on Thursday during the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development Day at the ongoing 20th Africa International Housing Show (AIHS).
Darma was represented by the Director and Head of Department, Public Buildings and Housing Development, Mr Temitope Pemi.
He spoke on the theme, “Land as a Tool for Affordable Housing for Low-Income Earners and Informal Workers in Africa”.
He said no affordable housing policy could succeed without an efficient, accessible, transparent and secure land administration system.
“Land remains the foundation upon which housing delivery, urban development, economic prosperity and social inclusion are built,” he said.
According to the minister, rapid urbanisation across Africa had widened housing deficits and increased pressure on urban infrastructure.
He said low-income households and millions of informal workers remained among the least served by conventional housing finance and formal land administration systems.
“Many are unable to obtain secure land titles, access mortgage finance or navigate the complexities associated with land acquisition and documentation.
“Consequently, the dream of homeownership remains beyond the reach of many hard-working citizens,”he said.
He stressed that simplifying land administration processes and embracing digital technologies would lower housing costs and encourage private sector investment.
According to him, the Nigerian Land Titling, Registration and Documentation Programme seeks to expand land registration and facilitate greater access to housing finance.
He added that the ministry was advancing digital land administration through Geographic Information Systems, digital cadastral mapping and electronic land records.
Also speaking, Collins Alabi, Director, Lands and Housing Development Department, said affordable housing would remain difficult to achieve without accessible, properly documented, well-planned and serviced land.
“Without accessible, properly documented, well-planned and serviced land, the objective of providing affordable housing for Nigerians and other Africans will remain difficult to achieve,” he said.
Alabi said governments must increase the supply of serviced land and modernise land administration systems to support housing delivery for low-income earners and informal workers.
He added that digitisation of land records and transparent procedures for land allocation were essential to reducing delays, minimising transaction costs and improving transparency.
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore, represented by the Director of Urban and Regional Planning, Mrs Margaret Adejobi, said affordable housing begins with accessible land.
“It is impossible to provide affordable housing where land is inaccessible, undocumented, insecure or prohibitively expensive,” he said.
Belgore said millions of Africans, particularly low-income earners and informal sector workers, continued to face significant barriers in accessing decent, affordable and secure housing.
“If we are to provide sustainable housing solutions for low-income earners and informal workers, we must ensure that land administration systems become instruments of inclusion rather than barriers to opportunity,” he said.He called for stronger collaboration among governments, development partners, financial institutions and private sector stakeholders to address Africa’s housing deficit.
