Housing minister decries lack of housing deficit data

The Minister of State for Works and Housing, Engineer Abubakar Aliyu has
bemoaned the lack of accurate data on the exact figure of housing deficits in the country.
The Minister stated this while speaking at a one-day Sensitization Forum on Lands, Housing and Urban Development, organised by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing on Thursday with the theme: “Achieving National Housing and Urban Development Goals: Opportunities For Partnership And Collaboration.”
Aliyu said the sensitization forum is timely as it provides an avenue for Stakeholders in the housing sector to come together to cross-fertilize ideas on how to address the problem of housing deficit in the country.
He reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to combat the problem of housing deficit in the country.
He said “We have targets and set up goals in order to improve on the housing deficit. If we don’t come together to talk and share common approach on how to reduce the housing deficit, we are going nowhere. The deficit is mostly at the middle and low income levels. So all stakeholders are gathered here to synergize, talk and cross-fertilize ideas with a view to reduce the deficit.”
“On the issue of the number of deficit that is going around, we don’t know which demon brought this up. Everyone is talking about it. Where is the data? Who conducted the study to determine the number of deficit that we have? The number of deficit is not something that we know because the study has not been conducted.”
Also speaking at the event, the Human Settlement Advisor of UN-Habitat, Ishaku Maitumbi emphasised the need for strategic and sustained partnership between all stakeholders in urbanization and housing development to assist the government in tackling the nation’s housing deficit.