‘It’s illogical to say we have a housing deficit when you have empty houses’ – Fashola says

Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, on Thursday has refuted reports that Nigeria has a housing deficit of 17 million.

While speaking at the weekly ministerial briefing organised by Presidential Communication Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the minister said that the pressure on housing in the country was caused by rural-urban migration, which he said created a demand and supply problem.

He stated: “It’s illogical to say we have that housing deficit when you have empty houses. No such deficit exists anywhere in the world.”

Fashola said he had consulted with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and some international organisations including the African Development Bank (AfDP) who confirmed that the Nigerian housing deficit reports are not correct.

He therefore noted that they should be disregarded.

However, the minister affirmed that the actual housing deficit in Nigeria cannot be ascertained until another census is conducted in the country.

A recent report by BizWatch Nigeria had stated that Nigeria has a 17 million housing deficit – the highest in Africa – with an urbanisation rate of 4.78 percent.

Where the United Nations recommends 8-10 dwelling units per thousand people, Nigeria has only climbed up to as high as 2 dwelling units per thousand people.