Nigeria’s housing sector needs urgent reforms, including housing policies, the Land Use Act and access to mortgage finance, to make housing accessible to more citizens, the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) has said.

NITP President, Dr Chime Ogbonna, gave the message to mark World Habitat Day (WHD), themed “Adequate Housing for All,” as the world reflects on the state of towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter.

This comes as the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr António Guterres, called for stronger investment in adequate housing provision and to transform informal settlements to reduce poverty, tackle inequality, and foster peaceful and inclusive societies.

Noting that adequate housing is the foundation of dignity, security, and opportunity, he lamented that over three billion people are yet denied this universal human right.

Among others, the United Nations stated that adequate housing requires an inclusive approach that responds to the needs of lower-income households, people experiencing homelessness, communities affected by crises and disasters, and those at risk of displacement.

The Executive Director, UN Habitat, Anacláudia Rossbach, stressed that housing must be treated as a public priority, alongside land and basic services.

She emphasised that the scale of the housing challenge requires stakeholders to do more and build differently by putting people at the centre of housing policies, investing in communities, and working across levels of government and with the private sector and civil society.

According to Ogbonna, the theme is particularly relevant to Nigeria, where rising land and construction costs, rapid urbanisation, inflation and limited access to affordable housing finance had continued to make decent accommodation and home ownership increasingly difficult for millions of citizens.

He said housing should not be viewed merely as shelter, but as the foundation of human dignity, family stability, health, security and economic prosperity.

Ogbonna said the crisis was evident in the growth of overcrowded settlements, informal communities and slums across the country, stressing that the challenge extends beyond the provision of houses.

Consequently, the NITP president urged the three tiers of government, the private sector, financial institutions and development partners to decisively address the crisis through reforms that would facilitate access to land, reduce the cost of building materials and strengthen mortgage financing for low-income earners.

He further advocated greater use of affordable locally produced building materials and incentives to encourage private-sector investment in affordable housing, stressing the need for a timely population census for accurate demographic data necessary for effective housing planning and delivery.