… YPP presidential candidate proposes ward-based development centres, 200 housing units per ward, direct-labour construction and technology-driven settlements to tackle Nigeria’s housing and economic challenges.
By: Prince Folorunsho Adegoke, Housing TV Africa
Arc. Dr. Peter Agada, a prominent Nigerian architect, acoustic engineering specialist and presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) ahead of the 2027 general elections, has unveiled an ambitious development blueprint centred on decentralised economic activity, affordable housing, direct-labour construction and a leaner cost of governance.
Agada said his vision is to transform Nigeria into a “project site” by taking government intervention directly to communities and linking housing delivery with employment, agriculture, small and medium-sized enterprises, energy, healthcare and infrastructure.
He revealed this during an interview with the Housing Development Programme on News Central TV and Housing TV Africa, where he outlined his proposals for addressing Nigeria’s housing deficit, unemployment, cost-of-living pressures, rural-urban migration and what he described as the disconnect between macroeconomic indicators and the living conditions of ordinary Nigerians.
According to Agada, his approach is built around what he calls “LabourDirect”, a model that seeks to reduce construction and project-delivery costs by changing the way government contracts and development projects are executed.
8,809 wards as centres of development
At the heart of Agada’s proposed economic and housing strategy is a ward-by-ward development model.
He said his team has been developing a plan based on the comparative advantages of Nigeria’s wards, with each ward expected to have a development master plan based on its agricultural, mineral, industrial or other economic potential.
Under the proposal, 50 hectares of land would be identified, digitised, titled and developed in each of Nigeria’s 8,809 wards.
Agada said the land would accommodate SME clusters, processing facilities, agricultural activities, housing, schools, healthcare facilities and other supporting infrastructure.
He described the proposed development centres as technology parks or clusters designed to create local economic activity rather than concentrating opportunities in major cities.
For example, he said a ward known for tomatoes and onions could have its development structured around food production and processing, while another area with deposits or skills suited to ceramics could be developed around that comparative advantage.
200 housing units in every ward
Housing is a central component of the proposed ward development model.
Agada said each 50-hectare development would include about 200 housing units for people working in the agricultural and SME clusters.
He argued that housing should not be treated separately from employment and economic development.
According to him, workers should be able to live close to their places of employment, reducing transportation costs while giving families access to basic services.
“By putting 200 units of houses there, we’ve solved housing problem,”
Agada said, arguing that decent housing combined with employment, electricity, healthcare and schools would create viable communities outside major urban centres.
He said the proposal would also include approximately one megawatt of solar power for each ward-based development, with solar panels incorporated into roofing systems.
The proposed settlements, he said, would include schools, hospitals and other community infrastructure, creating what he described as self-sustaining communities.
Housing affordability through new construction technologies
The YPP candidate also proposed the wider adoption of alternative construction methods and materials as part of his strategy to reduce the cost of housing.
Drawing from his experience as an architect and developer, Agada said conventional construction methods can make housing unnecessarily expensive because of the cost of materials and skilled artisans.
He cited soil stabilisation, alternative wall panels and container-based construction among the approaches that could be explored to reduce costs while maintaining acceptable standards.
He also described how he personally reduced construction costs when he built a two-bedroom house for his family earlier in his career, saying he used cost-saving construction techniques, moulded blocks on site and modified elements of the building design.
Agada argued that affordability should not automatically mean poor-quality housing.
Instead, he said architects and developers should take advantage of new technologies and locally appropriate construction methods to produce attractive, functional and affordable homes.
A different approach to mass housing
Agada also criticised what he described as the conventional approach to mass housing, where identical buildings are repeatedly constructed across large tracts of land.
He advocated for greater architectural variety and the use of existing landscapes in housing development.
He cited examples from countries such as South Africa and Kenya, arguing that affordable housing could incorporate different building forms, landscaping, solar energy and locally appropriate designs.
As an architect, Agada said he would personally be involved in the design and development of the proposed housing communities.
Jobs tied directly to housing and local production
Beyond the houses themselves, Agada said the ward development strategy is intended to create jobs at the grassroots.
He estimated that each development centre could create approximately 350 direct jobs in its initial phase, with additional employment generated through transportation, logistics, security, agriculture, healthcare, engineering, construction and SME activities.
He said the strategy is intended to reverse rural-urban migration by creating economic opportunities closer to where Nigerians live.
His stated objective is to encourage people who have migrated to cities because of the lack of jobs to return to their local government areas and wards where they can find employment and housing.
He also linked the strategy to reversing the migration of Nigerians abroad, using the phrase “Japa to Japada” to describe his proposed shift from outward migration to return and local economic opportunity.
Minimum wage and purchasing power
On affordability, Agada said his administration would seek to raise the minimum wage to between N120,000 and N150,000 or more, depending on the savings he says could be achieved through a leaner government and changes to public procurement.
He argued that the existing income levels of many Nigerian workers are incompatible with the current prices of food, transportation, fuel and other basic necessities.
His broader argument is that housing affordability cannot be solved solely by building cheaper houses.
According to him, Nigerians must also have sufficient incomes and employment opportunities to afford housing and sustain their households.
LabourDirect and the cost of construction
A major component of Agada’s proposal is his plan to reduce the cost of government projects through what he calls direct labour.
He argued that conventional contracting can significantly inflate project costs through layers of contracting and procurement.
Under his proposed model, government would provide the project design and bill of quantities while communities and other stakeholders could participate more directly in sourcing materials and supplying labour, with professionals retained for supervision.
He claimed that this model could substantially reduce construction costs and cited projects he said his company had executed as examples of what could be achieved.
Agada said his approach would also create opportunities for local workers, particularly young people, to participate in major infrastructure and construction projects.
A proposed Labour Direct Commission
To institutionalise the model, Agada proposed establishing a Nigerian Labour Direct Commission or Institute to oversee savings generated from his proposed procurement and governance reforms.
He said the proposed structure would operate through a system that includes national oversight while giving communities a direct role in determining their development priorities.
At the ward level, he proposed a 13-member committee comprising representatives of youths, women, traditional or community leadership and political interests.
The committee, according to him, would identify and prioritise the most pressing needs of the community.
Examples could include repairing a transformer, rehabilitating a school roof, fixing a road or restoring a failed water facility.
The identified priorities would then be submitted to the proposed Labour Direct Commission for implementation.
Cutting the cost of governance
Agada also placed significant emphasis on reducing government expenditure.
He said a YPP administration under his leadership would operate what he described as a “lean government”, arguing that savings from governance and public procurement could be redirected towards development.
He said he would not live in the presidential villa because of its perceived maintenance costs and would reduce spending on official convoys, aircraft and other government expenses.
He also proposed reviewing ministries and agencies with overlapping responsibilities as part of an effort to reduce the cost of administration.
Moving development beyond Abuja and other major cities
One of the central objectives of Agada’s housing strategy is to reduce pressure on major urban centres.
He argued that cities such as Abuja are becoming increasingly expensive because too many Nigerians are forced to compete for limited housing and employment opportunities.
His proposal is therefore to create functioning economic and residential centres in communities across the country.
Agada said that if people can find jobs, housing, electricity, schools and healthcare in their local communities, fewer Nigerians would need to relocate to Abuja and other major cities.
He argued that this could eventually reduce pressure on urban housing markets and contribute to lower rents.
Why the real estate boom has not translated into affordable housing
Addressing the apparent contradiction between Nigeria’s growing real estate sector and the difficulty many Nigerians face in finding affordable housing, Agada said the problem lies partly in what he described as a weak microeconomy.
He argued that large-scale real estate developments and high-value properties do not necessarily translate into housing access for ordinary Nigerians.
According to him, expensive developments in areas such as Lagos and Abuja may demonstrate activity in the real estate market, but the critical question is how many ordinary Nigerians can actually afford the properties.
His solution is to connect real estate development directly with employment and grassroots economic activity.
He said the proposed 50-hectare ward developments would be designed specifically around the people expected to live and work there, rather than simply producing high-value properties for investors.
Accountability: 800 houses per ward in four years
Asked how Nigerians could assess his performance after four years in office, Agada offered specific physical development targets.
He said that, based on his proposed model, each ward would have 200 housing units in the first phase.
Over four years, he said that would amount to 800 housing units per ward, alongside the expansion of economic and industrial activities.
He also projected that approximately 1,400 people could be moved back to each ward over the four-year period based on the employment figures he outlined.
He said visible development in the form of electricity, industrial clusters, agro-processing and other economic activities should provide Nigerians with tangible indicators against which to assess his administration.
Turning Nigeria into a project site
At the centre of Agada’s political and development philosophy is his call to move from what he sees as a system dominated by policy discussions and financial allocations to one focused on physical implementation.
“We’re turning Nigeria into a project site,” he said during the interview, describing himself as a project-oriented architect who wants to take resources directly to communities and development sites.
For Agada, housing is therefore not an isolated sector.
His proposed housing strategy is tied to employment, food production, energy, transportation, infrastructure, security, technology and local economic development.
Whether the proposals can be financed, legislated and implemented at the scale outlined would ultimately depend on the institutional, fiscal and political framework of any future administration.
For now, the YPP presidential candidate has placed housing and grassroots development at the centre of his campaign message, presenting his proposed 8,809-ward development model as the foundation for what he describes as a more decentralised Nigerian economy.
His challenge to voters, as stated during the interview, is to measure the performance of any future administration not merely by economic statistics but by what Nigerians can physically see in their communities; homes, jobs, electricity, roads, schools, healthcare facilities and functioning local economies.
