Land reforms will unlock $300bn dormant capital – Minister

The Federal Government has disclosed plans to unlock over $300bn ‘dead’ capital in the housing sector through a series of reforms in land administration and collaborations with stakeholders.

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, during a two-day capacity building conference organised by the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria recently in Abuja, said the reforms are part of the government’s efforts to enhance investment and finance opportunities for sustainable real estate projects and address the country’s housing deficit.

Recall that PricewaterhouseCoopers had in a recent report declared that Nigeria has between $300bn and $900bn worth of dead capital in residential real estate and agricultural land.

Dangiwa, who was represented by the Minister of State, Abdullahi Gwarzo, said his ministry was ready to break all institutional, legal, and bureaucratic barriers that had hindered sector growth over the years.

He outlined plans to amend the Land Use Act to streamline land administration, as well as reforms to key agencies like the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Housing Authority. He also underscored the government’s commitment to encouraging more private housing investment.

Gwarzo said: “In alignment with the vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we are dedicated to creating a conducive environment for increased private sector investment in housing.

“This includes collaborating with key stakeholders to review and amend the Land Use Act to streamline land administration and make access to land easy and fast. We all recognize that the most significant challenge in affordable housing is the cost of finance. Interest rates on bonds are in the double digits, and raising international funding for housing projects remains challenging due to fluctuations in our foreign exchange rates. Moreover, budgetary financing for housing development is inadequate to meet the demand.

“However, the resources pooled together by FMBN through NHF and FHFL through government injections and partnerships are still grossly inadequate to provide the volume of housing required.

“Our objective is to break all institutional, legal, and bureaucratic barriers that have hindered sector growth over the years. This includes collaborating with key stakeholders to review and amend the Land Use Act to streamline land administration and make access to land easy and fast.

“We hope that by doing so, we can unlock the estimated dead capital estimated by Price Waterhouse Coopers as being over $300bn. Additionally, we are diligently working to reform the key agencies under the Ministry’s supervision, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Housing Authority.”

Earlier in his address, the REDAN President, Aliyu Wamakko urged his members to comply with all extant laws for improving the national economy and declared the association’s support to the FG on affordable and accessible housing.