FG moves to construct 300,000 housing units for low-income earners

The Federal Government is set to construct 300,000 homes across the country for low-income earners.

By Omokolade Ajayi

Federal Government has disclosed that it is set to construct 300,000 homes across Nigeria for low-income earners under its National Social Housing Programme (NSHP).

This disclosure was made by the Government in a tweet which was made public via the official Twitter handle of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The government disclosed that low-income earners can become homeowners easily under the new NSHP initiative, which seeks to deliver affordable housing pegged at 300,000 units and millions of jobs for Nigerians.

The NSHP

• The National Social Housing Programme (NSHP) is the housing component of the President Muhammadu Buhari Economic Sustainability Plan to deliver affordable housing and millions of jobs for Nigerians.
• Under this programme, 300,000 homes will be constructed in all states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with the Family Homes Funds (FHF) as the lead developer, however other Nigerian partnerships and collaborations are welcomed to facilitate the construction of these homes.

The National Social Housing Programme (NSHP) will allow individuals in the low-income bracket to afford a house with as low as ₦2,000,000 only. According to the Government some of the offers which would be made available for aspiring homeowners throughout Nigeria are:

• 2-Rooms (1 Bedroom House) for ₦2,000,000.
• 3-Rooms (2 Bedroom House) for ₦2,750,000.
• 4-Rooms (3 Bedroom House) for ₦3,500,000.

Why this matters

FG stated that this initiative is highly imperative, given the cost of housing in sub-Saharan Africa, which is relatively high. Hence, it is often a luxury to own a home despite the basic nature of shelter needs.

The situation, however, for low-income earners is bad as they have competing needs such as food and clothing to consider before making any investments in house ownership.

The government in this regard has decided to intervene through the provision of a Mass Housing Programme of 300,000 homes across Nigeria for low-income earners.

The Social Housing Programme is expected to play a huge role in reducing the socioeconomic challenges that emerge from the development of slum settlements.

This takes avid steps towards making the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs 11) a reality, as it the NSHP aimed at making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

What you should know

• Nairametrics reported three months ago that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had approved the sum of N200 billion as mortgage finance facility to the Family Homes Fund Limited (FHFL) and targeted at low-income earners.
• This fund was approved to fast track the construction of 300,000 homes in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory and to create up to 1.5 million jobs in 5 years.
• According to The Punch, the Managing Director, Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Senator Gbenga Ashafa, on October 20th 2020, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of the government with Family Homes Funds Limited for the construction and delivery of 1,000 homes, being phase one of the 300,000-units social housing projects.
• He told journalists in Abuja that some FHA directors on Monday visited the site where the first 1,000 houses would be built in Bwari, a satellite town in Abuja. He added that full construction would start in November.