Renewed hope housing scheme under construction in 14 states, FCT – Dangiwa

Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa is the Minister of Housing and Urban Development. In this interview, he outlined some of the challenges of delivering affordable housing in Nigeria and the progress so far under the Renewed Hope Housing Scheme   What is the state of the renewed hope housing scheme in the country? Today, under the […]

Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa is the Minister of Housing and Urban Development. In this interview, he outlined some of the challenges of delivering affordable housing in Nigeria and the progress so far under the Renewed Hope Housing Scheme

 

What is the state of the renewed hope housing scheme in the country?

Today, under the first phase of the programme, we already have major housing projects underway across 14 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

This geographical spread, with at least two states in each geo-political zone, is intentional. It demonstrates that the Renewed Hope Agenda is not a promise for a few urban centres, but a national programme that will, in time, reach all 36 states and every one of the 774 LGAs through our Renewed Hope Cities, Estates, and Social Housing components.

With 10,112 housing units currently under construction nationwide, we have already generated over 250,000 jobs in less than two years.

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What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced in implementing the Renewed Hope Housing Programme, and how have you addressed them?

One of the biggest challenges has been land access and titling. It is so because in Nigeria, land administration is largely under the purview of state governments.

The process of acquiring land, securing titles, and obtaining approvals has traditionally been slow, cumbersome, and costly. Without accessible and affordable land, housing delivery becomes extremely difficult.

To address this, we have worked closely with progressive State Governors who have keyed into the President’s vision. Many have now donated land free of charge for Renewed Hope projects and streamlined their approval processes. At the federal level, we are championing land reforms and driving the Nigeria Land Registration, Documentation and Titling Programme to make land transactions more efficient and transparent nationwide.

Another challenge has been access to affordable housing finance, especially for low- and middle-income Nigerians. Mortgages in Nigeria are traditionally expensive, with high interest rates and rigid terms that put homeownership out of reach for ordinary families. Guided by Mr. President’s directive to make homeownership truly affordable, we are implementing single-digit interest rate mortgages through the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), rent-to-own schemes with zero down payments, and exploring public-private housing funds that reduce reliance on federal budgets while expanding access to finance for developers and buyers alike.

Lastly, there is the challenge of public trust, shaped by years of unfulfilled promises and abandoned projects. Nigerians have seen many housing schemes launched in the past that failed to deliver. We are tackling this by ensuring transparency, inclusiveness, and speed of execution.

The Digital Housing Portal is eliminating middlemen and corruption, while our partnerships with credible private developers and financiers are ensuring that projects are not only started but completed on time.

 

What’s the implementation plan and target beneficiaries for the Renewed Hope Social Housing Programme?

The Renewed Hope Social Housing Programme is the heart of our pro-poor housing strategy and one of the most socially transformative aspects of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision for housing. It is designed to ensure that no Nigerian is left behind, particularly those who have traditionally been excluded from formal housing markets—low-income earners, informal sector workers, and the most vulnerable members of our society.

The goal is bold but clear: to deliver 77,400 affordable homes, with 100 housing units in each of Nigeria’s 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs). This is the most decentralized, inclusive housing intervention ever launched in Nigeria, taking housing development directly to rural and peri-urban communities that have historically been neglected.

The programme is designed for Artisans, market women, okada riders, mechanics, petty traders, and other informal sector workers who earn daily or weekly incomes and cannot afford conventional mortgages.

Similarly, Persons living with disabilities, internally displaced persons (IDPs), widows, and other vulnerable groups who often face housing discrimination or homelessness. It is also to address Young Nigerians, particularly those returning to rural communities under agriculture or entrepreneurship schemes, who need affordable housing to settle and grow. In the same vein, civil servants in rural postings—teachers, healthcare workers, agricultural extension officers—who often struggle to find decent accommodation near their duty stations.

Why is the Nigeria Land Registration, Documentation, and Titling Programme important, and how will it impact the property sector?

The Nigeria Land Registration, Documentation, and Titling Programme (NLRDTP) is one of the most ambitious and far-reaching structural reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. This is because land is the foundation of everything—housing, agriculture, industrialization, infrastructure development, and investment. Without secure and transparent land administration, our housing revolution cannot reach its full potential.

Today, one of the biggest obstacles to economic growth in Nigeria is that over 96% of land remains untitled and undocumented. This means millions of Nigerians live, farm, or do business on land that is not legally recognized. Without valid titles such as Certificates of Occupancy (CofO), they cannot access bank loans, secure their investments, or confidently pass on land assets to their children. Economists refer to this as “dead capital”—wealth that exists in theory but cannot be unlocked or used productively.

The NLRDTP is designed to change this reality. It is a bold, systemic, and coordinated reform aimed at working hand-in-hand with State Governments—who constitutionally control land within their territories—to modernize, digitize, and streamline land administration nationwide. The key pillars of this programme include Digitization of Land Records by supporting states and the FCT to establish modern, secure, and accessible digital land registries that replace slow, paper-based systems prone to loss, forgery, or manipulation.

It also intends to develope standard operating procedures that reduce duplication, shorten processing times, eliminate excessive charges, and drastically curb corruption in land allocation and titling.

The programme also intends to have a National Land Information Dashboard by Creating a centralized, real-time database that provides reliable data on land availability, ownership, and use across Nigeria, making it easier for investors, developers, and citizens to plan and transact.

It will unlock over $300 billion in dead capital, and I am also pleased to share that the World Bank and other international development partners have expressed strong interest in supporting this programme, financially and technically.