The federal government has unveiled plans to drive an affordable housing scheme through cooperative societies, digital finance, and strategic partnerships. This initiative aims to address the housing deficit in Nigeria by leveraging the collective power of cooperatives.
Minister Announces Cooperative Housing Summit
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister for Cooperative Affairs, Sen. Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, disclosed this at the 2026 Cooperative Housing Summit Africa (CHOSA), held in Abuja. The summit, themed “Catalyzing Adequate Housing for All through Cooperatives,” brought together stakeholders to discuss innovative solutions for housing delivery.
Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform Programme
Abdullahi stated that given the important role cooperatives play in society, the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (RH-CRRP) would drive affordable housing across the country. He noted that cooperative housing has demonstrated remarkable success in promoting affordable housing delivery, reducing homelessness, strengthening communities, and improving social welfare. Across several countries, housing cooperatives have become strategic instruments for urban renewal, affordable home ownership, and inclusive economic participation.
Plans for Cooperative Bank of Nigeria
The Minister revealed plans for the establishment of a Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, designed to provide accessible financing for cooperative housing schemes, mortgages, infrastructure development, and community projects. According to him, the proposed bank would operate under a cooperative ownership structure and focus on underserved Nigerians, especially workers in the informal sector.
Digitization of Cooperative Operations
Abdullahi stressed that Africa’s cooperative housing ecosystem cannot operate effectively in the modern era without robust digital infrastructure. He assured that the Federal Government would digitize cooperative operations nationwide to improve transparency, financial management, access to credit, and investor confidence. He explained that digital finance platforms would simplify mortgage repayment systems, housing project monitoring, and cooperative member verification, among others.
Inclusive Housing Initiatives
The Minister emphasized that cooperative housing initiatives should remain inclusive and responsive to the needs of women, youth, persons with disabilities (PWDs), farmers, informal sector workers, rural communities, low-income earners, and vulnerable populations. He urged African governments to strengthen enabling policies, improve regulatory frameworks, support cooperative financing systems, simplify land administration processes, and incentivize affordable housing investments.
Support from Housing Ministry
In his remarks, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Muttaqha Darma, represented by the Director of Public Buildings and Housing Development, Mr. Samuel Pemi, stated that cooperative housing remains one of the most practical solutions to Africa’s growing housing deficit. He said that technology-driven finance would play a major role in improving mortgage administration and housing access for citizens in both formal and informal sectors.
Call for Public-Private-People Partnership
In his presentation, the Founder of Nigeria Integrated Social Housing Cooperative Ltd. (NISH), Dr. Saheed Adelakun, faulted the traditional Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, insisting that affordable housing delivery must now embrace a “Public-Private-People Partnership” approach. He advised that intended homeowners should be directly involved in housing projects for affordability to be achieved. He pointed out that “We need houses that low and middle-income earners can truly afford. Government, developers, cooperatives, and homebuyers must work together.”
Cooperative Federation of Nigeria's Role
During her goodwill message, the President of the Cooperative Federation of Nigeria (CFN), Mrs. Hannatu Mershak, stated that the federation currently supervises more than 50,000 cooperatives with over 30 million members nationwide. Mrs. Mershak urged governments, financial institutions, and private investors to deepen collaboration with cooperatives to address Nigeria’s housing shortage.
