FG Moves to Complete Abandoned Housing Projects Across Nigeria
The Federal Government has commenced a nationwide review of abandoned housing projects to determine their condition, level of completion and the interventions required to restore them for use.
The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqa Darma, disclosed this on Wednesday during an inspection of an abandoned National Housing Programme (NHP) estate in the Kubwa-Karsana District of Abuja.
Darma expressed concern over the continued abandonment of government housing projects, stressing that public assets must be completed and made available to Nigerians.
He said the Federal Government would take decisive steps to upgrade and complete viable abandoned housing projects across the country as part of efforts to increase the supply of affordable and decent homes.
“The Federal Government would take decisive steps to upgrade and complete viable abandoned housing projects across the country, with the objective of delivering more affordable and decent homes to Nigerians,” he said.
The minister said the government could no longer allow housing projects initiated with public funds to remain abandoned for extended periods.
“We cannot continue to allow housing projects that were started with public funds to remain abandoned,” Darma said.
He described the abandoned developments as public investments that should be preserved, completed and put to productive use for the benefit of Nigerians.
“These are assets belonging to Nigerians, and our responsibility is to ensure that they are completed, functional and occupied by the people who need them,” he said.
According to Darma, the nationwide review is part of the Federal Government’s efforts to advance the Renewed Hope Housing Agenda and improve access to affordable and decent accommodation.
He explained that the assessment would help the government identify projects that remain viable and can be prioritised for completion, while existing housing infrastructure would also be rehabilitated where necessary to ensure optimal utilisation.
“Our target is clear, where projects are viable, we will upgrade them, complete them and ensure that Nigerians can benefit from them,” the minister said.
Darma said the government was determined to increase housing delivery and reduce the country’s housing deficit before the end of 2026.
He added that recovering and completing abandoned housing projects would complement the construction of new housing developments being undertaken under existing Federal Government housing programmes.
The minister noted that making use of existing investments would enable the government to deliver housing more efficiently while preventing resources already committed to abandoned projects from being wasted.
He also stressed the importance of ensuring transparency in the allocation of completed housing units.
According to him, completed units would be allocated transparently to deserving Nigerians, while the outcome of the assessment would guide the government’s decisions on the completion, rehabilitation and eventual allocation of the projects.
The inspection of the abandoned NHP estate in Kubwa-Karsana is part of the government’s broader assessment of housing developments across the country as it seeks to recover viable public housing investments and bring them back into use.
