Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Mahmuda Mamman has said the Federal Government plans to assist vulnerable Nigerians to own houses.

Mr Mamman made this disclosure while speaking with journalists on the first day of the 12th meeting of the National Council on Housing and Urban Development taking place in Kaduna State.

This is contained in a statement issued on Tuesday in Kaduna by the Director of Information in the ministry, Badamasi Salisu-Haiba.

The theme for the 12th council meeting is “Harnessing local and international credit schemes as a panacea for affordable housing infrastructure development under the “Renewed Hope Agenda.”

Mr Salisu-Haiba quoted the permanent secretary as saying, “The National Housing Scheme Programme by the ministry would assist the vulnerable population of the country in affording a roof over their heads and this would in turn bridge the gaps in the housing sector.”

He further explained that the housing ministry intended to go for social housing schemes to provide decent and affordable houses to cater to the housing needs of Nigerians.

Mr Mamman said this was part of the efforts to realise the ambition in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.

According to the permanent secretary, deliberations at the housing council meeting would figure out ways the state governments can take advantage of the scheme.

Mr Mamman said, “We have written letters to the various state governments asking them to give us unencumbered lands so that we can be able to build these affordable houses for all Nigerians. This is because it is a matter of right and not a privilege, that’s why the administration is doing things differently.”

Mr Mamman also said that an ongoing survey being conducted by the National Population Commission would ascertain the accurate figure of housing deficit in the nation.

He added that the figures would be made known upon completion of the survey.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Kaduna State Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Rabi’u Yunusa, informed the meeting that the state was working on a programme that would provide affordable social mass housing.

This, he said, would accommodate 1000 houses in the rural areas and 300 houses in the urban areas, across the 23 Local Government Areas of the state.

Mr Yunusa further revealed that the state had attracted a Qatari Charity Organisation to provide 500 housing units for the most vulnerable people in the state.

He also assured that the state government was poised to build 10,000 units of houses in the next four years.

In his introductory remarks, Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Kolapo Raheem explained that the theme for the 12th National Council of Housing was apt and timely.

He said that it was chosen in consideration of the alarming need to galvanise domestic and foreign funds towards meeting the nation’s housing challenges, as well as the enhancement of the country’s overall economic growth and development.

Mr Raheem further urged the participants to explicate their professionalism in the deliberations to guide policy formulation that would facilitate affordable housing delivery.

(NAN)