The Federal Government yesterday said it is intensifying efforts to address Nigeria’s growing housing deficit through a new national housing strategy focused on land reforms, urban renewal, and publicprivate partnerships.

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, said this while declaring open the 14th meeting of the National Council on Lands, Housing and Urban Development yesterday in Ilorin.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 14th National Council had the theme: “Achieving Housing Delivery and Sustainable Cities Through Effective Land Management, Urban Renewal, Promotion of Local Building Materials, and Public-Private Partnership in Nigeria.”

Represented by Alhaji Mukhtar Ilyasu, the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics in the ministry, Dangiwa said that the strategy placed effective land administration at the centre of housing delivery nationwide.

He explained that the policy adopted urban renewal as a key tool for rebuilding Nigerian cities, while positioning private sector investment as the main driver of mass housing development.

He said: “Nigeria’s housing deficit, estimated in the tens of millions, remains one of the country’s most pressing social and economic challenges, driven by rapid urbanisation, population growth and rising construction costs.