The Federal Government has commenced a review of abandoned housing projects across the country to determine their status, level of completion and the interventions required to complete and put them to use.
The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqa Darma, disclosed this on Wednesday during an inspection of an abandoned National Housing Programme (NHP) estate in the Kubwa-Karsana District of Abuja.
Darma expressed concern over the prolonged abandonment of government-funded housing projects, stressing the need to complete and utilise public assets for the benefit of Nigerians.
He said the Federal Government would take steps to upgrade and complete viable projects nationwide as part of efforts to provide more affordable and decent housing.
“The Federal Government would take decisive steps to upgrade and complete viable abandoned housing projects across the country, with the objective of delivering more affordable and decent homes to Nigerians,” he said.
The minister said government could no longer allow housing projects initiated with public funds to remain abandoned for extended periods.
“We cannot continue to allow housing projects that were started with public funds to remain abandoned,” Darma said.
He described the projects as public investments that must be preserved and put to productive use.
“These are assets belonging to Nigerians, and our responsibility is to ensure that they are completed, functional and occupied by the people who need them,” he said.
According to Darma, the review forms part of the Federal Government’s efforts to advance the Renewed Hope Housing Agenda and expand access to affordable and decent accommodation.
He explained that viable projects would be prioritised for completion, while existing infrastructure would be rehabilitated where necessary to maximise its use.
“Our target is clear, where projects are viable, we will upgrade them, complete them and ensure that Nigerians can benefit from them,” the minister said.
Darma said the government was also seeking to increase housing delivery and reduce the country’s housing deficit before the end of 2026.
He added that recovering and completing abandoned projects would complement the construction of new housing developments under existing Federal Government housing programmes.
The minister noted that maximising existing investments would allow government to deliver housing more efficiently while preventing resources already committed to abandoned projects from going to waste.
He further said completed housing units would be allocated transparently to deserving Nigerians, adding that the assessment would guide government’s decisions on the completion, rehabilitation and eventual allocation of the projects.
