Nigeria Needs N21trn To Address Housing Deficit, Say VP Shettima

The Vice President, Kashim Shettima has said that despite efforts by governments across different levels, Nigeria’s housing deficit remains huge as N21 trillion will be required to effectively bridge the gap.

The Vice President stated this on Saturday in Sokoto at the groundbreaking for the construction of a 500-unit Housing Estate by the State government.

According to a statement by his media office, Shettima, who commended the State governor, Ahmed Aliyu, for his efforts to address the housing needs of his people, noted that the housing deficit in Nigeria remained a huge challenge.

According to the VP, “Nigeria has a deficit of 28 million houses and we will need N21 trillion to meet our housing needs.

“This step taken by the Governor is highly commendable and worthy of emulation by other State governments.”

“The Governor has started well by completing the roads and flyovers he inherited,” he added.

Earlier in his remarks, Governor Aliyu said the housing estate will be for civil servants and would be sold to them when completed on an owner-occupier basis.

“This is a project that was initiated by the former Governor of the State, Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko but was later abandoned by the immediate past administration but we are determined to complete it for the benefit of our workers and the general public,” he said.

The governor disclosed that the project located at Wamakko Local Government Area of the State will cost the State government N7.3 billion to complete.

The event, which was to mark 100 days in office by the administration, was attended by former Governor of Sokoto State, Sen. Aliyu Wamakko; Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari; Minister of State, Water Resources and Sanitation, Bello Goronyo, and former deputy governor of Sokoto State, Mukhtari Shagari, among others.