Newly sworn-in Minister of Housing and Urban Development Muttaqha Rabe Darma on Friday struck an ambitious promise to deploy innovation and strategic planning to address the country’s staggering housing deficit of some 20 million units.
Speaking to State House Correspondents after his inauguration by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Darma described his role as a profound test of accountability—to himself, those close to him, the public, and ultimately God.
“I am going to deliver to the best of my ability, and you will see changes in no time,” he said.
Darma acknowledged the crisis’s scale, which leaves over 100 million Nigerians without adequate shelter.
Building even 15 million homes in the next decade, he noted, would demand vast resources and face steep hurdles.
The Minister projected confidence in a reformist path.
“We are strategic. We are focused. We are forward-looking,” he said.
“We will bring a lot of innovation and creativity to ensure that so many people who are unhoused will be housed, inshallah.”
Funding remains a perennial roadblock, but Darma said he hasn’t yet delved into the Ministry’s books to understand the full details of the challenges in the sector.
“If I know the challenges, I will definitely find ways to solve them,” he pledged.
He zeroed in on a stark inefficiency: While private developers thrive—turning estate owners into some of Abuja’s wealthiest figures—government projects languish unfinished, he explained.
“Why is it that they are building houses, selling them, and yet government-owned houses are being abandoned? There must be something wrong,” Darma noted.
Private real estate’s allure, he added, brings quick riches and social prestige, even village titles, exposing flaws in public-sector models that his team aims to fix—potentially by tapping private expertise.
