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Stakeholders seek stronger public-private partnerships, sustainable practices to address Nigeria’s housing crisis – EnviroNews
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Stakeholders in Nigeria’s built environment sector have called for stronger public-private sector collaboration, sustainable construction practices and strict compliance with building regulations to address the country’s growing housing challenges.
They made the call at the annual lecture and awards of the Property and Environment Writers Association of Nigeria (PEWAN), held on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, in Lagos.
The event, themed “Reimagining Housing in Nigeria: Sustainability, Facility Management and Innovative Building Materials,” brought together property developers, government officials and other stakeholders to discuss ways of improving housing delivery and management.
Delivering the guest lecture, Mr. Niyi Oyedele, Chairman of Q-Shelter Nigeria Ltd., said the private sector had a critical role to play in the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Housing Programme.
Oyedele said private developers’ responsibilities should extend beyond selling houses to supporting families throughout their years of living in the properties.
He noted that Nigerians seeking home ownership needed access to suitable properties, transparent pricing, proper documentation and realistic payment arrangements.
Prospective homeowners, he added, also required assurances that houses would be delivered as promised and that their communities would be properly managed.
“Where any one of these elements is missing, home ownership remains out of reach, even when houses are available,” he said.
According to him, addressing Nigeria’s housing needs requires effective coordination among government, construction companies, financial institutions and prospective homeowners.
He described the Renewed Hope Housing Programme as a framework for achieving such collaboration, explaining that government provides land, policy direction and access to housing finance, while the private sector contributes investment, construction expertise, technology and the capacity to reach buyers.
“Our collective responsibility is to bring these contributions together for the benefit of every Nigerian who aspires to own a home,” he said.
Oyedele said his company connects Nigerians to housing opportunities and supports them through different stages of home ownership.
He listed Renewed Hope City, Cassina in Abuja, Renewed Hope City, Janguza in Kano and 2004 Estates in Sangotedo, Lagos, among the company’s housing portfolio.
The Q-Shelter chairman also stressed that affordability should not be measured solely by the initial purchase price but should include the long-term cost of maintaining a property.
He said an affordable house should also be affordable to maintain, noting that effective facility management required deliberate planning, clearly defined responsibilities and reliable maintenance arrangements.
He called for sustainable funding structures for estates, with transparent arrangements that residents could understand to ensure proper management beyond the initial handover.
Also speaking, the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Mrs. Florence Gbaye, called for collective responsibility in ensuring safe and sustainable buildings across Lagos.
Gbaye, who received an award at the event, said LASBCA’s responsibilities extended beyond regulation, inspection and enforcement to protecting lives and safeguarding investments.
She said the agency was committed to ensuring that buildings provided safe, healthy and habitable environments for occupants.
The general manager emphasised the importance of obtaining approved building plans before construction and engaging qualified architects and other relevant professionals.
She urged developers to ensure that construction activities conformed to approved plans, building specifications and relevant building codes.
According to her, strict compliance with building regulations would promote structural safety, sustainability and the protection of property investments.
Gbaye said building regulations were not designed to frustrate property owners but to protect lives, families and investments.
She called on building professionals, property developers, the media and members of the public to support efforts to raise awareness of building regulations.
She also urged residents to report buildings under construction without proper regulatory compliance, as well as distressed structures that could threaten lives.
Gbaye said defective and distressed buildings required prompt government intervention, including demolition where necessary, to prevent possible collapse and loss of lives.
She stressed that creating a safe built environment was a shared responsibility involving government agencies, professional bodies, property owners, developers and residents.
Earlier, PEWAN Chairman, Mrs. Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie, said housing had become a major challenge for Nigerians, particularly over the last three years.
She attributed the situation to rising construction costs, high inflation, increasing land prices and escalating rents in urban centres.
Iroegbu-Chikezie said the growing mismatch between household incomes and housing costs had made decent accommodation increasingly difficult for many Nigerians to afford.
She explained that the lecture’s theme was designed to encourage stakeholders to rethink how houses and communities were planned, constructed, managed and maintained.
According to her, housing should go beyond providing shelter to promoting dignity, economic opportunities, environmental responsibility and improved quality of life.
She said Nigeria continued to face significant housing challenges driven by rapid urbanisation, population growth, rising construction costs and inadequate infrastructure.
Addressing the situation, she said, required more than building additional houses, calling for smarter urban planning, sustainable construction methods, innovative financing mechanisms and policies that would make decent housing accessible to low- and middle-income earners.
The National Housing Data Technical Committee’s recent report puts Nigeria’s housing deficit at approximately 14.925 million units, based on 2025 data.
The report, however, noted that the housing challenge extended beyond the shortage of housing units alone, underscoring the need to address issues relating to affordability, infrastructure, building quality and effective management.
