FG moves to stop workers from spending 40% of income on rent

The Federal Government says it is working to ensure Nigerian workers no longer spend between 40 and 60 per cent of their income on rent, as part of efforts to improve access to affordable housing.

According to Tribune, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqha Darma, said excessive rent could force workers to seek additional income to meet family needs, creating conditions that could encourage corruption. He said the government’s goal was to ensure every unhoused Nigerian had access to a decent home.

Darma also disclosed that the government had identified nearly 250,000 abandoned housing units nationwide and was engaging state governments to take over, renovate and allocate them, particularly to civil servants. He said the projects included schemes dating back to the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The minister said the government was compiling data and inspecting the abandoned estates across the country, expressing optimism that their recovery would help reduce Nigeria’s housing deficit.