The Association of Housing Corporations of Nigeria (AHCN) has unveiled a five-year mass housing initiative targeting the delivery of 740,000 housing units across Nigeria from 2027, with an annual production target of 148,000 homes.
Under the initiative, tagged ‘ERAHOMS 740,000 Mass Housing Initiative,’ the association said the 36 State Housing Corporations and the Federal Capital Territory would jointly drive large-scale housing delivery through direct development, public-private partnerships (PPPs), serviced land, mortgage-backed housing, cooperative housing and private-sector partnerships.
Disclosing this on Monday while presenting the State of the Nation Housing Address to commemorate the 2026 World Habitat Day, President/Chairman of Council of AHCN, Mr Eno Obongha, said the initiative was designed to address Nigeria’s housing crisis by transforming state housing corporations from underutilised government agencies into commercially driven housing-development institutions capable of delivering homes at scale.
The theme of this year›s World Habitat Day is ‘Adequate Housing for All’.
Obongha said the proposed 740,000 units would not be based on an arbitrary equal allocation among states, but would take into consideration each state›s population, housing deficit, land availability, economic capacity and existing housing project pipeline.
According to him, the initiative will require the collective commitment of federal and state governments, financial institutions, developers, building-material manufacturers, professionals and other stakeholders.
‘We don’t need to create another housing-delivery institution to get this done. All we need is to awaken, reform, recapitalise and reposition the 36 state housing corporations that already exist to execute this,’ he said.
The AHCN president said the association was formalising funding arrangements that would incorporate both the demand and supply sides of the housing market to ensure the programme was sustainable.
He explained that the initiative would be supported by a five-point agenda for 2027, comprising the establishment of a National State Housing Corporation Housing Delivery Register, reform of state housing corporations, creation of a National Housing Land Bank, establishment of a Housing Corporation PPP Fund and delivery of 740,000 homes through state housing corporations.
Obongha said the need for urgent action had become more compelling following the estimated 14.925 million-unit national housing deficit and another 15.2 million existing homes classified as structurally defective or substandard.
He noted that the figures, generated through the National Housing Data Centre, underscored the need for Nigeria to move beyond estimates and establish a continuously updated national housing database.
‘Data must not remain in reports. Data must become the foundation for housing policy, housing finance, land allocation and actual housing delivery,’ he said.
He described the state housing corporations as Nigeria›s ‘underutilised housing engine,’ noting that although the institutions exist across the country, many are constrained by inadequate funding, lack of access to affordable long-term finance, land challenges, outdated laws, weak revenue-generation mechanisms and poor integration into government housing strategies.
He therefore called for the repositioning of the corporations from government construction agencies to professional housing-development institutions.
He said the corporations should be able to originate projects, structure them, secure land, attract investors, mobilise finance, supervise construction, manage estates and recover investments.
On PPPs, the AHCN chief said the model must be redefined and made central to housing development, with government providing land, planning approvals, infrastructure support, development rights, off-take arrangements and institutional guarantees, while the private sector provides equity, construction expertise, technology, project management and innovation.
He also called for the creation of special housing-finance windows involving the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company, commercial and mortgage banks, pension funds, insurance companies, development finance institutions and private investors.
According to him, Nigeria cannot produce millions of homes with expensive short-term finance and high interest rates.
He further proposed a National State Housing Land Bank Initiative, under which every state housing corporation would maintain a digital inventory showing the location, size, ownership, title status, infrastructure status, development potential and planning status of land available for housing.
Obongha also urged the Federal Government to make state housing corporations principal delivery partners in the Renewed Hope Housing Programme.
He said that while the programme, launched in 2024, had projected 100,000 housing units annually, available public breakdowns showed that only slightly more than 15,000 units were under construction across 14 states and the FCT, with 129 units delivered at Nasarawa Technology Village and 116 units handed over to the Benue State Government for civil servants.
He argued that state housing corporations should not merely participate in national housing programmes but should become key delivery engines.
He also called for affordable rental housing, slum upgrading, local production of building materials and the development of Agric-Villages to tackle housing shortages, unemployment, food insecurity and rural-urban migration.
Obongha urged state governors to revive and strengthen their housing corporations by appointing boards, providing land, facilitating access to finance, ensuring professional leadership and setting measurable housing-delivery targets.
He said the performance of each corporation should ultimately be measured by the number of homes delivered, families housed, private capital mobilised, land unlocked and contribution to the development of the state.
Looking ahead to 2030, AHCN envisaged a Nigeria where every state housing corporation would have a functioning housing-development strategy, every state would maintain a documented housing land bank, and housing finance would be accessible to more Nigerians.
‘Let us therefore transform our housing corporations from underutilised government agencies into powerful engines of mass housing delivery.
‘Let us build not merely houses, but communities. Let us build not merely estates, but economic opportunities. Let us build not merely structures, but rekindle the hope of our people,’ Obongha said.