The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, on Tuesday told United Nations officials that there was a need to gather data on where people want houses, the type of houses and their affordability in Nigeria.
He also noted that the challenges of housing needs were more pronounced in urban cities than in rural communities.
The minister, who said these in Abuja while receiving a delegation of the UN-Habitat Mission, commended the UN Human Settlements Programmes for its commitment towards addressing the global challenges of urbanisation.
Officials of the UN-Habitat Mission visited the minister to brief him on the outcomes of the validation workshop on the evaluation of the memorandum of understanding between the Federal Government and UN-Habitat held in Abuja.
Fashola requested the UN body to supply more information on the areas of intended collaboration, adding that as a national strategy, Nigeria would look out for how investments would grow its economy and develop its people.
He added that there was a need to work out a strategy on housing to meet the interest of all stakeholders.
The minister assured the delegation that the Federal Government would continue to collaborate and work with the UN body to achieve the clear mandate of the UN-Habit Programme.
The head of the UN-Habitat delegation, Dr Naison Mutizwa-Mangiza, told the minister about some key outcomes of the validation workshop.
He also told the minister about the forthcoming conference of ministers’ of housing scheduled for Abu Dhabi in 2020 and extended an invitation to Nigeria to attend.
The Minister of State for Works and Housing, Abubakar Aliyu, expressed satisfaction with the level of cooperation between the Federal Government and the UN-Habitat.
