The Federal Government says it is developing measures to reduce the proportion of workers’ income spent on rent, with the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqha Rabe Darma, saying employees should not have to commit between 40 and 60 per cent of their salaries to housing.
Darma disclosed this in Abuja while linking the high cost of housing to the government’s broader efforts to address corruption.
He said workers who spend a large portion of their legitimate earnings on rent are often left with insufficient income to meet other essential needs, including food, children’s education and healthcare.
According to the minister, such financial pressure could push some workers to seek alternative sources of income.
Darma said, “We are going to ensure that in this country, workers do not spend 40 to 60 per cent of their income on rent.”
He described affordable housing as central to improving workers’ welfare and addressing Nigeria’s housing deficit.
The minister said about 110 million Nigerians are currently unhoused, while the country requires an additional 16 million housing units to bridge the housing gap.
As part of efforts to expand access to affordable housing, Darma said the ministry had identified nearly 250,000 abandoned housing units across the country, some of which date back to the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He said the ministry was engaging state governors on plans to take over and renovate the abandoned estates, with the completed units to be allocated to civil servants as affordable housing.
Darma said if state governments could take over the 250,000 units within the next few months and allocate them to civil servants, it would represent significant progress in addressing the housing challenge.
