Ministry Introduces Monitoring, Review Mechanism On Housing Council Resolutions

Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is set to introduce a mid-term monitoring and review mechanism that will ensure effective implementation of resolutions of the meeting of National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development being organised by the Ministry, annually.

The permanent secretary, Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi stated this in his remarks during the meeting of the body of Permanent Secretaries at the ongoing 13th meeting of the Council in Gombe state, yesterday.

Ogunbiyi who is the chairman of the body of permanent secretaries in the Council also revealed that resolutions reached at the meeting will be presented to the ministerial body of states commissioners for deliberations and adoption.

He explained that the ministry is setting up measures to ensure comprehensive compliance with council resolutions by all stakeholders in the housing sector, in order to advance the nation’s housing agenda.

The theme for the 13th (2024) meeting is “Housing the Future: Affordable Housing for Economic Growth, Climate Resilience and Urban Development”.

“Concerned with the non-implementation of Council resolutions over the years, the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development sponsored a memo this year to seek the approval of Council for the mid-term monitoring of the implementation of Council resolutions.  I am happy to inform you that the Technical Session held yesterday accepted the prayers and this will be presented to the body of permanent secretaries today”, he stated.

He reminded the permanent secretaries that the meeting serves as a powerful reminder on collective responsibility to advance the development of the Housing and Urban Development sector in Nigeria.

Outlining some challenges facing the housing sector, Ogunbiyi listed, shortages of affordable housing, rapid urbanisation, and poor access to land.

He then highlighted the initiatives of the ministry to tackle the challenges to include; Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Housing Programme, which he noted has seen significant progress in housing development across all geo-political zones of the country.

In addition, he stated the initiative of the ministry to establish the National Housing Data Center aimed at creating a comprehensive housing data framework to support housing policy and planning.

He explained that the Steering Committee on the Housing Data which he chaired was charged with the responsibility of providing direction and oversight for the collection of National Housing Data from Public and Private Institutions and creating access to housing data in Nigeria for Policy, Planning and decision-making.

“This Committee has already mandated its Technical Working Group (TWG) to come up with the Governance and Data Gathering Frameworks and modalities for setting up the National Housing Data Center (NHDC).  This Programme is among some of the key initiatives of the Ministry geared towards the achievement of our mandate”, he remarked.

Speaking earlier, the commissioner Ministry of Works, Housing and Transportation, Gombe, Engr. Usman Kallamu, said the council meeting affords delegates to identify the importance of affordability in Nigeria’s economic and urban development, urging participants to actively participate, share their insights and collaborate towards achieving the objectives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Paper presentations on: Building Collapse and Mortgage Registry Administration were respectively made by the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) and Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).

On building collapse, it was noted that failure to engage appropriate building supervisors, pressure to rush the design, non-engagement of professionals, lack of appropriate technology and professionals manning the building permit agency, use of substandard building materials, among others are causes of building collapse in Nigeria.