Seventeen months after Ahmed Dangiwa assumed office as Nigeria’s Minister of Housing and Urban Development, the landscape of the nation’s housing sector is undergoing significant transformation. Appointed by President Bola Tinubu, Dangiwa has, under the Renewed Hope Agenda, brought clarity, urgency, and depth to a sector long plagued by underinvestment, institutional inertia, and systemic bottlenecks.
Supporting him in this bold transformation journey is Yusuf Abdullahi Ata, who was appointed Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development in October 2024. Since joining the Ministry, Ata has worked closely with Dangiwa, bringing complementary leadership and reinforcing the drive for accelerated implementation of the Renewed Hope Agenda across the housing and urban development value chain.
From launching Nigeria’s most ambitious housing delivery programme in decades to championing reforms that would lead to the unlocking of long-frozen land assets, Dangiwa is building more than houses. He is building a new vision for Nigeria’s housing and urban development future: one rooted in inclusion, economic vibrancy, and human dignity.
Read also: FG set to construct 100 housing units each in 774 LGAs with Renewed Hope Social Housing Programme
Mass housing that delivers
At the core of Dangiwa’s strides is the Renewed Hope Housing Programme, a bold initiative to provide affordable homes to Nigerians across varying income segments. The programme is anchored on three core delivery mechanisms that reflect the ministry’s responsiveness to Nigeria’s diverse housing needs.
The first component is the Renewed Hope Cities, which involves the construction of large-scale, integrated housing developments with a minimum of 1,000 units each. These cities are to be developed in each of the six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with designs that promote holistic living. They are envisioned as self-contained urban communities complete with essential infrastructure such as roads, green spaces, schools, and healthcare facilities.
Next is the Renewed Hope Estates initiative, which focuses on mid-scale housing projects comprising 250 housing units per site. These estates are currently ongoing in 13 states (Osun, Oyo, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Abia, Ebonyi, Benue, Nasarawa, Katsina, Sokoto, Gombe, Kano and Yobe) and primarily cater to low- and middle-income earners. They are especially targeted at civil servants and workers in the informal economy, thus broadening access to affordable homeownership for traditionally underserved demographics.
The third and most ambitious component is the Renewed Hope Social Housing Programme. This scheme plans the construction of 100 housing units in each of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas, amounting to a nationwide target of 77,400 homes. It is specifically designed for Nigeria’s poorest and most vulnerable populations. Under this model, 80 percent of the houses will be sold at heavily subsidised rates, while the remaining 20 percent will be allocated free of charge to those in greatest need.
Already, the numbers are impressive. Within 17 months of taking office, the ministry has turned Nigeria into a huge construction site with construction going on simultaneously in 14 states, accounting for 10,112 housing units, many of which are already at advanced stages of development. In contrast, the previous administration delivered just 3,388 completed homes under the National Housing Programme across eight years.
Beyond scale, what sets the Renewed Hope programme apart is its emphasis on speed, quality, and sustainability. Designs are climate-smart, with solar integration and local material usage prioritised. An online housing portal now streamlines the application and allocation process, enhancing transparency and public access https://renewedhopehomes.fmhud.gov.ng.
Read also: Nigeria’s bold push to bridge housing deficit and empower citizens
Slum upgrade and urban renewal
Dangiwa’s impact isn’t limited to housing construction. He has also revitalised the National Urban Renewal and Slum Upgrade Programme, with over 100 infrastructure projects completed nationwide. From the North to the South, the impact is visible. These include the provision of solar-powered streetlights, clean water supply systems, internal roads, drainage, and waste management facilities in some of Nigeria’s most underserved communities.
These projects, implemented in semi-urban areas and rural settlements, improve living conditions for tens of thousands of Nigerians and restore a sense of dignity to neglected communities.
Land reforms to unlock wealth
Perhaps the most transformative intervention in Nigeria’s housing and urban development sector under Dangiwa’s leadership is the bold move to fix the country’s deeply entrenched land administration challenges. For decades, poor land governance has stifled housing delivery, discouraged real estate investment, and undermined the growth of mortgage finance. Without secure and verifiable land titles, millions of Nigerians remain unable to leverage land as a productive asset or collateral for credit, while the government loses billions in potential revenue from property taxation and transaction fees.
Recognising this, the minister inaugurated a high-powered Land Reform Task Team, drawing on experts from across the public and private sectors. The Task Team submitted a comprehensive blueprint to overhaul and modernise land administration in Nigeria. The recommendations focus on streamlining land titling, digitising land records, reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks, and creating a unified national framework for land governance that respects the roles of both federal and state actors.
To bring this vision to life, the ministry, in collaboration with the World Bank and state governments, is collaborating with states for the rollout of the Nigeria Land Registration and Titling Programme. The programme is ambitious in scope: it aims to formalise 50 percent of land transactions across the country within the next 10 years.
If achieved, this could unlock over $150 billion in so-called ‘dead capital’—land assets that remain economically dormant due to a lack of formal title or documentation. By turning these assets into bankable and tradable resources, the programme holds the potential to increase Nigeria’s GDP by up to 30 percent, driven by renewed investor confidence, growth in the mortgage sector, and expanded real estate development.
The programme’s core features include simplifying and standardising the land ownership process, drastically reducing transaction costs and timelines, and deploying technology to build secure, transparent, and interoperable land databases across the federation. For ordinary Nigerians, this reform promises easier access to land ownership, increased tenure security, and the ability to participate more fully in the formal economy.
Ultimately, these reforms are not just about paperwork—they are about prosperity. By giving land a real economic identity and utility, the Dangiwa-led ministry, in line with the federal government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, is laying the groundwork for inclusive growth, more affordable housing, a vibrant mortgage market, and stronger public revenue.
Read also: The benefits of fusing the Renewed Hope Agenda, national development planning and Agenda 2063
Institutional reforms and new funding models
Recognising that legacy institutions must be retooled to meet today’s complex challenges, the ministry is actively driving a suite of bold institutional reforms. At the forefront of these efforts are the optimisation of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and the Federal Housing Authority (FHA). Both institutions are being strengthened to improve operational efficiency, enhance financial viability, and strengthen service delivery to Nigerians, particularly those in the low- and middle-income brackets.
Under Dangiwa’s leadership, FMBN is showing measurable improvements in performance and impact. Between May 2023 and April 2025, the Bank disbursed over ₦73 billion in housing finance, delivering 2,542 new homes across the country and benefiting over 30,000 Nigerians through various housing loan products. These include 1,285 beneficiaries of NHF mortgage loans worth ₦11.75 billion, 1,140 beneficiaries of Rent-to-Own housing valued at ₦15.06 billion, and 27,911 recipients of Home Renovation Loans, totalling ₦15.35 billion.
The Bank also recorded an unprecedented operational surplus of ₦11.58 billion for the year ending December 2024 (unaudited), marking a turnaround in profitability. Furthermore, the successful completion of FMBN’s Core Banking Application (CBA) in Q1 2025 has significantly enhanced the Bank’s operational capacity. The platform allows NHF contributors to conduct services online, ranging from registration and loan applications to repayments and refund requests, while reducing turnaround time by over 40 percent.
In line with its mandate to expand homeownership, the Bank registered 373,595 new NHF contributors and refunded ₦30.66 billion to over 92,000 past contributors. NHF collections during the period stood at an impressive ₦203.27 billion, indicating growing confidence in the scheme.
FMBN is also innovating. It is finalising the launch of a Diaspora Mortgage Product in partnership with NiDCOM, and designing new offerings such as Rent Assistance and Home Improvement Loans tailored for the informal sector, including non-interest mortgage products to accommodate religious interests.
These strides show what is possible when an institution is effectively reformed and aligned with a bold national vision. FMBN is no longer just a disbursement agency—it is becoming a central pillar in the architecture of affordable housing finance in Nigeria.
Alongside this, a framework for establishing the National Social Housing Fund (NSHF) is in advanced stages. The NSHF is envisioned as a sustainable financing vehicle that pools concessionary capital from multiple sources, ranging from fuel subsidy savings and pension fund surpluses to diaspora bonds, corporate social responsibility (CSR) levies, and multilateral development partners. The fund will provide long-term, low-cost financing to enable the delivery of affordable housing for Nigeria’s most vulnerable populations.
In a further push to reduce construction costs and stimulate the domestic economy, the ministry is finalising plans to launch Building Materials Manufacturing Hubs across each of Nigeria’s six geo-political zones. These hubs are expected to catalyse local production, lower dependency on imported building materials, drive down housing construction costs, and generate thousands of skilled and unskilled jobs, thereby linking housing delivery to broader industrial and employment policy goals.
Read also: Africa 100 legends and impact on Nigeria’s housing sector
Policy leadership and regulatory drive
Beyond physical construction and funding mechanisms, Arc. Dangiwa’s leadership has placed strong emphasis on policy formulation and regulatory reform as key enablers of sustainable development. In collaboration with UN-Habitat, the Ministry has drafted a new National Urban Development Policy (NUDP), which outlines a 10-year action plan to guide Nigeria’s urbanisation in a structured, inclusive, and sustainable manner.
At the same time, the Ministry is undertaking a comprehensive review of the National Housing Strategy Report (2023). The goal is to update the document to reflect the country’s post-2019 macroeconomic realities and ensure it is ready for practical implementation. These policy actions are complemented by the Ministry’s full support for the proposed Real Estate Regulatory Authority Bill, which aims to establish legal safeguards for property buyers, investors, and practitioners, thereby fostering greater trust and professionalism in the housing market.
A national leader with continental impact
Ahmed Dangiwa’s commitment to reform is not only resonating within Nigeria but is also gaining recognition across Africa. In June 2024, he was unanimously elected chairman of the Financial Caucus of African Ministers of Housing and Urban Development. In this role, he is leading continental efforts to strengthen cooperation on housing finance, urban policy, and sustainable development practices. His election affirms Nigeria’s re-emergence as a thought leader and driver of transformative housing solutions under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
The numbers speak loud
The results of these efforts are already tangible. Over 10,112 housing units are currently under construction nationwide, while more than 100 slum upgrading projects have been completed to improve living conditions in underserved communities. The Renewed Hope Social Housing Programme envisions the delivery of 77,400 homes across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas. Currently, 14 states plus the Federal Capital Territory are actively engaged in various stages of housing development.
Meanwhile, land reforms are poised to unlock over $150 billion in capital through improved registration and titling systems. The ministry also has plans underway to establish six regional hubs for building material manufacturing, which will serve as anchors for job creation and industrial growth. Looking ahead, the target is to deliver up to 500,000 homes annually as part of the long-term plan to bridge Nigeria’s national housing deficit.
Read also: Affordability gap: Operators explain why reform is needed in housing finance sector
Laying the foundation for the future
Dangiwa is under no illusion about the scale of the task ahead. With more than 43 million households and a housing deficit running into the tens of millions, the current pace of 20,000 to 50,000 units annually must be significantly scaled up. As he aptly put it, “If history were our benchmark, we are doing well. But history is not our benchmark. The housing needs of our people are.”
In that spirit, the ministry has declared 2025 as the Action Year. The focus will be on scaling delivery through increased partnerships with the private sector, enhanced budgetary allocations, deeper subnational engagement, and fast-tracked project approvals. Every initiative is being calibrated to deliver at scale, with impact and urgency.
A housing renaissance in motion
Under his stewardship, Dangiwa, with the firm support of Minister of State, Yusuf Ata, the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is undergoing a profound transformation. No longer passive or reactive, the Ministry is now assertive, reform-driven, and results-oriented. From policies to people, institutions to investments, the change is both structural and visible.
With construction cranes dotting skylines, building materials being produced locally, and thousands of families gaining access to safe and decent shelter, the Renewed Hope Agenda is moving from aspiration to action. This is not just about homes—it is about dignity, equity, and national progress. Dangiwa’s legacy will not only be measured in bricks and mortar, but also in the millions of lives uplifted and the hope rekindled across the nation.
Chieshe is the Special Assistant to the Minister on Media & Strategy
businessday.ng (Article Sourced Website)
#Renewed #Hope #Dangiwas #transformation #Nigerias #housing #sector #Businessday