The Federal Government has increased capital allocation to the Ministry of Housing’s National Housing Programme by ₦3 billion. This increased capital allocation from ₦13.57 billion to ₦16.57 billion.
This is another lap in the revised 2020 budget exclusively made available to Dataphyte. While the government cut capital expenditure by 10 percent, it raised recurrent expenditure by 5 percent. Experts have criticised the development and called for a budget with priority on human capital development.
Overall, the Federal Government downsized the entire 2020 budget by ₦80.35 billion (80,345,966,946). Accordingly, the proposed budget revision stands at ₦10.51 trillion (10,509,654,033,054) as against the initial budget of ₦10.59 trillion (10,594,362,364,830).
Despite the increase made to the housing programme nationwide, the overall Ministry’s capital budget dropped from ₦315.56 billion to ₦256.73 billion. This shows a percentage change of 19% (₦58.83 billion).
Lack of Transparency In National Housing Scheme Defeats The ₦3 Billion Addition
The National Housing Programme Nationwide is a project under the Ministry of Works and is intended to build low-cost houses in 34 states of the country. But the antecedent of the scheme over the past years seems to defeat affordability. For instance, quick checks on the Federal Housing Authority website show that some of the properties listed for sale in Lagos, Abuja, and other states do not prices. Others go at high prices. For instance, a three-bedroom apartment at FHA Zuba Project Estate, Abuja, costs N10.5 million excluding 3% administrative cost on sale. With this price, one can conveniently build a 3-bedroom bungalow anywhere in Nigeria.
This points to the transparency and affordability issue of the scheme. For instance, phone contact on the website is not assigned to the organisation. The owner of the Phone Number (+234 (0) 803 323 4804), which Truecaller identified as Iya Umar, told Dataphyte that the phone line is personal and not that of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA).
Without a proper mechanism to monitoring implementation, the ₦3 billion addition may turn out to be another wasteful spending. The government must also ensure the homes are affordable. At least, this will go a long way in reducing the impact of housing deficit on citizens.
Housing (Shelter) is one of the necessities of life for the masses. When it is affordable, it guarantees the wellbeing and productivity of the populace. According to a report by PwC, Nigeria is estimated to have a housing deficit of 17 million as of August 2012 and requires 700,000 houses annually compared to less than 100,000 currently being constructed. The report referred to statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Expert Speaks
Mr. Atiku Samuel, a policy analyst, considers the housing scheme as a good one. However, he queried the level of impact of the housing scheme on the masses. He said the Housing scheme has not necessarily translated into real impact considering Nigeria’s rising population. “I understand the policy stance of the government, but they have been doing that for five years without impact. Check the antecedent of the National Housing Programme you will see there is a huge credibility issue with that budget.”
Mr. Samuel calls for a private sector-driven housing scheme instead of government building houses across the country. “Why not have a conversation with the private sector. In terms of priority, this type of expenditure is what they should yank-off. Why would they increase such expenses when the private sector can handle it. He, however, suggested that the Federal Government can use such allocation to ensure a robust health and education system.