By Hajara Usman
The Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is set to implement a mid-term monitoring and review mechanism to ensure effective execution of the National Council on Lands, Housing, and Urban Development’s annual resolutions.
Permanent Secretary Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi highlighted this during the 13th meeting of the Council in Gombe State on Wednesday, 13 November 2024, addressing the body of Permanent Secretaries. Dr Ogunbiyi, who chairs the council’s Permanent Secretaries’ body, noted that the resolutions will be forwarded to the ministerial body of state commissioners for further discussion and adoption.
Dr Ogunbiyi explained that the Ministry is establishing measures to ensure comprehensive compliance with Council resolutions across the housing sector, to advance the nation’s housing agenda.
The theme for the 13th meeting in 2024 is “Housing the Future: Affordable Housing for Economic Growth, Climate Resilience, and Urban Development.”
“Concerned with the lack of resolution implementation over the years, the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development proposed a mid-term monitoring mechanism to ensure compliance,” he noted. “I am pleased to report that the Technical Session held yesterday approved this proposal, and it will be presented to the Permanent Secretaries today.”
He emphasised the importance of collective responsibility among Permanent Secretaries in advancing the Housing and Urban Development sector in Nigeria.
Dr Ogunbiyi outlined challenges facing the housing sector, including shortages of affordable housing, rapid urbanisation, and limited access to land. He also highlighted Ministry initiatives to address these, such as the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Housing Programme, which has seen significant development progress across Nigeria’s geo-political zones.
Additionally, he mentioned the establishment of the National Housing Data Centre, aimed at creating a comprehensive housing data framework to support policy and planning. Dr Ogunbiyi, who leads the Housing Data Steering Committee, explained that this committee is responsible for overseeing the collection of housing data from public and private institutions and providing access to this data for policy, planning, and decision-making.
“This Committee has mandated its Technical Working Group to develop the Governance and Data Gathering Frameworks for establishing the National Housing Data Centre (NHDC),” he added. “This initiative is one of several key efforts by the Ministry to achieve our mandate.”
Dr Ogunbiyi stressed the need for stronger public-private partnerships, innovation, and community engagement to meet the urgent demand for affordable and sustainable housing. He described the Council meeting theme as a call to action, urging stakeholders to contribute their expertise to drive meaningful development.
Earlier, the Commissioner of Works, Housing, and Transportation in Gombe, Engr. Usman Kallamu, emphasised the role of affordability in Nigeria’s economic and urban development. He encouraged participants to actively engage, share insights, and collaborate to achieve President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Presentations were given on building collapse and mortgage registry administration by the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) and the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), respectively.
Regarding building collapses, it was noted that causes in Nigeria include a lack of professional supervision, pressure to expedite design processes, use of substandard materials, and inadequate technology in building permit agencies.