The Federal Government has inaugurated a Joint Steering Committee on National Housing Data Centre, to develop and implement a blueprint for ensuring transparency and easy access to housing.

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, inaugurated the centre on Tuesday in Abuja.

Dangiwa said that the centre would be useful for policy and decision making towards affordable housing and the well-being of Nigerians.

He said that the measure was imperative in order to meet the housing needs of Nigerians and unleash the sector’s potential as an enabler of economic growth.

According to him, there are many issues in the sector that need fixing.

‘The lack of credible, scientific, and verifiable data on the state of housing in our country stands out as the most pressing and embarrassing.

‘This is because, without data, we cannot know the magnitude of the problem we are facing, and the resources we need to allocate.

‘This is coupled with the challenge of substandard houses that do not meet the
conditions of safety, security and other parameters as set out by the UN and the World Health Organisation (WHO),” he said.

Dangiwa added that there was no industry-accepted data to guide the government, housing agencies, and financial institutions in planning and outlining strategies to fix Nigeria’s housing problems.

‘What we have had over the decades are speculations and estimates.

‘At the Ministry, we consider this a national emergency for the housing sector and as a government, we can not allow it to continue.

‘Under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, for housing and urban development, fixing Nigeria’s housing data problem is a top priority, ‘ he said.

The minister said it was as a result of the challenges that they were inaugurating the Joint Steering Committee on National Housing Data.

‘The Committee has been established as a strategic partnership among key stakeholders in Nigeria’s housing market.

‘The mandate is to develop and implement a blueprint for ensuring transparency a
nd ease of access to housing data in Nigeria.

‘It will be essential for policy and decision-making towards affordable housing and the well-being of Nigerians,’he said

Dangiwa said that key deliverables of the committee would be to develop the framework and modalities for setting up the National Housing Data Centre (NHDC).

He said that the committee would cover technical requirements, specifications, including transactional and legal documentation

‘It will also create a framework for data gathering channels from public and private institutions.

‘It will design a framework for distributing housing data to institutional and retail investors in the Nigerian financial market, ‘ he said.

The minister said that the committee would develop a framework for data distribution to all participants in the housing market and establish the framework and timelines for setting up a mortgage exchange.

Mr Kehinde Ogundimu, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC), pledged t
he commitment of the committee to deliver on the mandate.

‘We will work together and put forth something that will be credible, reliable, and that people can use to make informed decisions,’ he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that membership of the committee includes a representative from Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to serve as the Chairman

Others are representatives from National Population Commission, National Bureau of Statistics, Central Bank of Nigeria, NMRC, and Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria.

Also included are Federal Housing Authority, Family Homes Funds Limited, Mortgage Bankers Association of Nigeria, Housing Development Association of Nigeria, among others.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria