Cross River Governor Senator Bassey Otu has charged Housing Corporations in Nigeria to move beyond building isolated estates to creating scalable, replicable systems that can close the nation’s housing deficit.

Otu gave the charge at a 2-day National Housing Workshop of the Association of Housing Corporations of Nigeria (AHCN) and the 49th AGM/114th Council Meeting of AHCN, held at Calabar, Wednesday.

The governor, represented by the State Commissioner for Housing, Dr. Beatrice Igwe, lamented that the demand for housing in the country is outpacing supply, while conventional financing models continue to exclude low-income earners.

Governor Otu explained that Cross River State is piloting a Public-Private-Community Partnership model under his “People First” agenda.

He disclosed that the groundbreaking for a 500-unit Okuni Housing Estate in the Central Senatorial District of the state would take place on Saturday, July 4, 2026.

The governor further stated that there are plans to replicate the housing estate across the Northern and Southern districts, bringing the total number of housing units statewide to 1,500.

He added that a 50-unit free housing project for indigent women in the State is now at 80 percent completion.

Governor Otu urged participants to share honest lessons, standardize models, and partner with funders such as the Family Homes Funds Limited and the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria to unlock capital at scale, describing housing corporation Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) as “architects of dignity” for millions of Nigerians.

Speaking, the National President of the Association of Housing Corporations of Nigeria, ESV Eno Ibor Obongha, noted that their participation at the workshop was a demonstration of their collective commitment towards addressing one of the most pressing challenges facing the nation, which is the provision of decent, affordable, and sustainable housing for millions of Nigerians.

“Housing remains one of the greatest indicators of economic prosperity, social stability and human dignity. Yet, despite sustained efforts by governments and private investors, the housing deficit continues to widen, while the dream of home ownership remains beyond the reach of low-income owners.

“The theme of the event, “Beyond affordability: Saleable Housing solutions for low-income earners to venture into real estate markets,” challenges us to move beyond discussions of housing costs alone. It calls on us to develop innovative, practical and saleable models capable of delivering housing at the speed and scale demanded by our rapidly developing population,” he stated.

Obongha, who is also the Managing Director of the Cross River State Property and Investment Company Limited (CROSPIL), noted that the future of affordable housing lies in stronger public-private partnerships, innovative house styles, modern construction technologies, land administration reforms, institutional operations and the utilisation of State Housing Corporations as strategic vehicles of mass housing delivery.

“As institutions with statutory mandates, State Housing Corporations remain uniquely positioned to coordinate land acquisition, infrastructure development, housing production and partnerships that can unlock mass-scale investments across Nigeria,” the National President of AHCN said.

He added that the workshop was carefully designed to provide a platform for robust engagement, knowledge sharing and practical policy dialogue amongst key players, policy makers, investors, developers, financial institutions and housing professionals, stressing that recommendations emerging from the workshop would contribute significantly to the development of the housing sector in the country.