By Ayoade Ishola
The Connected Development (CODE) and BraveRock, a real estate firm have unveiled a nationwide campaign to ensure that Nigerians have access to affordable housing by 2030.
Speaking at a joint media briefing on the estate firm’s 5th anniversary in Abuja, on Tuesday, CODE’s Chief Executive, Mallam Hamzat Lawal, noted the urgency of addressing the crisis, aligning the campaign with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11 which calls for access to safe and affordable housing for all by 2030.
Lawal noted that the initiative comes as Nigeria grapples with a staggering housing deficit estimated between 17 and 28 million units.
“This is a human rights issue. The Nigerian Constitution recognises the right to suitable and adequate shelter, yet millions remain homeless. With just five years to the 2030 SDG deadline, the government must accelerate action,” he said.
Lawal cited a 2025 report by BusinessDay, which revealed that Nigeria needs 900,000 new housing units annually to meet demand, but is only producing about 100,000 units each year. This gap has left home ownership at a low 25 percent.
He also said that the Federal Capital Territory alone needs 1.7 million units, nearly 10 percent of the national shortfall.
He said that to close the housing gap, CODE proposed a multi-pronged strategy, creation of a National Housing Data Centre for reliable, evidence-based planning and inclusive land reforms with tax incentives for productive land use.
He equally called for the development of affordable finance models such as rent-to-own, micro-mortgages, and housing cooperatives, adoption of local building materials and green technologies to reduce construction costs and expansion of public-private partnerships (PPPs) for large-scale housing delivery.
He said, “If we don’t have accurate data, how can we plan, budget, and set realistic policies?”
He urged the government to strengthen initiatives like the Family Home Fund and National Housing Fund with greater financial support.
On his part, the Managing Director of BraveRock, Usman Zambuk, reiterated the company’s commitment to reducing Nigeria’s housing deficit.
He said, “Our goal is to more than double our current output in the next five years. We are expanding to Lagos and strengthening our presence in the northeast.”
He, however, noted critical hurdles including soaring costs of construction materials, many of which are imported, land inflation, project financing, interest rates as high as 35%, among others which severely undercut affordability, thus a concerted efforts to address and overcome the challenges.
