By OYINKOLADE OYINTUTU

Federal Government has inaugurated a 15-member ministerial committee to develop an implementation framework for validated stakeholder resolutions on housing sector reforms.

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqha Darma, inaugurated the committee on Tuesday in Abuja, charging members to transform the housing and built environment sectors.

Darma said the committee was set up following a stakeholder validation conference convened to validate the ministry’s housing deficit data and develop policies to transform the built environment.

He said the recommendations from the engagement were grouped into three categories based on their implementation requirements.

“I want to let you know that the validation workshop that the stakeholders were engaged in came up with a number of recommendations.

“These recommendations were put into three categories, first is the category that we can implement immediately. The second is what we can implement after validation.

“The third is implementation that will come after legislation. We will have to make sure that all these categories are followed.

“We will have to make sure that all of these categories are being fought for us to continue to work and make sure that we transform the sector,” he said.

The minister said the government had a responsibility to provide housing for Nigerians and create an enabling environment for citizens to provide housing themselves.

He stressed the need to regulate the built environment to enable it contribute more to the national economy.

“We have the task of housing Nigerians. If we can’t house them, we have the task of providing the enabling environment for them to house themselves.

“We must do it. It is our responsibility and we are very responsible people, we also have the task of ensuring that the built environment is very much regulated so that it will contribute to the national economy,” he said.

According to him the 2025 rebasing by the National Bureau of Statistics indicated that the sector contributed more than 17 per cent to Nigeria’s economy.

He said countries such as South Africa and Kenya have the sector contributing between 22 and 27 per cent to their Gross Domestic Products.

“We shall be able to steer this industry to contribute significantly to the development of the economy of this country,” he said.

Darma urged members of the committee to work assiduously to ensure that the reforms were successfully implemented.

He gave the committee six weeks to complete its assignment and develop an implementation strategy for transforming the built environment.

The minister said the committee would be chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore, with representatives from the ministry, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and Federal Housing Authority (FHA).

The committee’s Terms of Reference include driving reform measures across the ministry, FMBN, FHA, and other relevant stakeholder groups.

The committee will also develop an implementation work plan detailing priority actions, responsible institutions, timelines, milestones, and deliverables.

Members are also tasked with monitoring implementation progress, resolving bottlenecks, establishing technical sub-committees, and coordinating inter-agency collaboration.

Responding, Belgore assured the minister of the committee’s commitment to delivering on the assignment within the stipulated six-week period.

He said the task was aimed at improving the housing sector, standardising housing sector players and increasing the sector’s contribution to the economy.

“Honourable Minister, we have already been provided with a working document, what to start with. We will look at it closely and work with it thoroughly.

“We will improve the document. We will see what has been left out of it and what is in there that may not work, we will see what we can do to amend it and get it to work,” he said.

Belgore said the committee would also conduct further stakeholder consultations to ensure that the implementation framework received the support of stakeholders.

Also speaking, the Managing Director of FMBN, Shehu Osidi, described the proposed reforms as long overdue.

Osidi urged the ministry to prioritise effective stakeholder engagement, citing previous attempts to amend the National Housing Fund and FMBN Acts that were unsuccessful.

He said some stakeholders had raised concerns over provisions in the proposed amendments, leading to the process being halted.

“So I would suggest very strongly that effective stakeholder consultation is critical to the reform implementation,” he said.

Representing Oyetunde Ojo, the FHA Managing Director, Oluremi Omowaiye, Executive Director, Projects and Infrastructure, pledged the authority’s support for the reform process.

He assured that the FHA would work with the committee and the ministry to ensure the success of the reforms.

“We are going to work with you, we are going to work with the committee and ensure we give our best so that at the end of the day, Nigeria can be proud of us,” he said. (NAN)