Sokoto Commissioner urges single-digit mortgage rates, longer repayment periods

The Sokoto State Commissioner for Lands and Housing, Barrister Nasiru Danstsoho, has called for single-digit mortgage interest rates and an extension of repayment periods to 35 years to make home ownership more accessible to Nigerians.

Danstsoho made the call on Monday while delivering the keynote address at the 15th National Council on Land, Housing and Urban Development in Sokoto. The meeting has the theme “Strengthening Mortgage, Land, and Institutional Systems for Accelerated and Inclusive Housing Delivery.”

He said the proposed reforms would enable more Nigerians, particularly low-income earners and workers in the informal sector, to access mortgage facilities and own homes.

The commissioner expressed concern over Nigeria’s housing deficit, which he put at more than 14.7 million units, and the estimated 15.7 million people living in unsafe housing conditions.

He urged the government and relevant financial institutions, including the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, to introduce policies that would lower housing loan costs and provide more flexible repayment terms.

“We should try to make a policy towards getting it down to only one single digit and also improve the length of the mortgage, maybe from 25 to 35 years,” he said.

Danstsoho said housing policies should extend beyond civil servants and formal private-sector workers to include traders, farmers and others whose livelihoods depend on informal economic activities.

“Most of our policies are directed towards the public and private sectors. But there are Nigerians who are in the majority, living in the same country and suffering the same consequences because of our limited policies,” he said.

He said extending mortgage opportunities to informal sector workers would promote inclusive housing delivery and allow borrowers to spread repayments over a longer period.

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The commissioner also called for the digitisation of land administration systems across the states to improve transparency, curb corruption and ease access to land for residential and commercial development.

He disclosed that the Sokoto State Government had begun issuing digital certificates of occupancy as part of efforts to modernise land administration.

According to him, the state has allocated more than 1,696 plots of land to applicants for residential, commercial and other purposes, while additional applications are being processed.

Danstsoho commended Governor Ahmed Aliyu for supporting reforms in the land and housing sector, saying the administration was committed to transforming the state through urban development and infrastructure improvement.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry of Lands and Housing, Alhaji Ahmed Moyi Tambuwal, said the government was implementing reforms to improve land administration and housing delivery.

He listed the digitisation of land records, efforts to reduce the time required to process certificates of occupancy and the allocation of land for mass housing under the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Housing Programme among the ongoing initiatives.

Tambuwal said addressing the housing challenge required more than building houses, stressing the importance of accessible housing finance, efficient land administration, effective institutions and stronger collaboration among federal and state governments and private-sector stakeholders.

“If we are to expand home ownership opportunities for civil servants, traders, farmers, young professionals and our growing population of young Nigerians, then our land and mortgage systems must be made more accessible, efficient and responsive,” he said.

The permanent secretary urged delegates to develop practical recommendations to improve access to land and housing finance. He said the success of the council should be measured by the impact of its resolutions on ordinary Nigerians.

Also speaking, the Director of Research, Planning and Statistics at the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Mukhtar Umar, said the council would review memoranda and recommendations from technical sessions ahead of the final meeting involving the minister, minister of state, and commissioners from the states and the Federal Capital Territory on Thursday, October 15.

He said the final session would consider recommendations, provide policy direction, and review the implementation of resolutions from the 14th National Council meeting held in Ilorin, Kwara State.

Umar urged technical officers and other participants to ensure their recommendations were evidence-based, practical, and capable of addressing challenges in land administration, housing finance, institutional coordination, and sustainable urban development.

He added that the quality of the council’s final decisions would depend on the depth of technical analysis and the effectiveness of the harmonization process.

The four-day council meeting, which runs from Monday to Thursday, brings together stakeholders in the land, housing and urban development sectors to discuss measures to improve housing delivery and strengthen institutional frameworks across the country.