Two housing estates inaugurated and declared “completed” by the federal government in Ungwar Rere and Kwandere, Lafia, Nasarawa State, are deteriorating and largely unoccupied, LEADERSHIP can report.
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The estates were part of the National Housing Programme (NHP), implemented in partnership with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association’s National Affordable Housing Project. The initiative was launched under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration as a ₦500 billion Social Housing Project to provide affordable homes to low-income Nigerians.
Contracts for the estates were awarded in 2016, with 76 units at Ungwar Rere and 100 units at Kwandere. While Kwandere units were inaugurated in 2021, the Ungwar Rere estate was unveiled in 2022. At the inauguration, former President Buhari, represented by then Minister of State for Science, Technology and Innovation, Muhammed Abdullahi, said the estates fulfilled the promise of providing shelter, while then Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, highlighted the variety of units constructed, including one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes.
However, a recent LEADERSHIP inspection revealed that many houses remain unoccupied, with some partially completed and others abandoned. Sources revealed that contractors pulled out midway due to delayed payments. One contractor explained, “We progressed to an advanced stage but had to leave the site due to the government’s failure to release funds. Some of our property, especially cables, were vandalised, and eventually, we had to remove what we could.”
The estates show signs of neglect: roofs blown off, rot, vandalism, and overgrown weeds. Residents reported that the roads within the estates are now being used by women to dry cassava, particularly at Kwandere, one of Lafia’s main cassava hubs. Jummai Garba, a local resident, said the area offers women a safer space for processing cassava flour and garri.
Despite these abandoned projects, the federal government launched a new housing initiative in Azuba, Lafia last year, under President Bola Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope” agenda. The estate, comprising 250 units, has reportedly reached an advanced stage of construction.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP, Garba Bashir, Controller of Housing and Urban Development for Nasarawa State, said that all federal housing projects are still under review and that work to complete and allocate the existing estates is ongoing. However, the Kwandere estate, initiated by the FMBN, remains outside his direct purview.
Mrs. Hilda Odiachi, Lafia Branch Manager of the FMBN, cited affordability challenges as a major factor delaying allocation. “By law, we cannot deduct more than a specific portion of a worker’s salary for housing repayment. Unfortunately, most applicants earn below the required threshold. We have reviewed the pricing and are finalising allocation plans,” she explained.
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