· “Landlords prefer Yahoo boys”
By Sarah NEGEDU
Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital territory’s, population growth is stretching the city’s housing limits, as many low- and middle-income residents are now forced to move to unplanned settlements due to high rents, demolitions, and inadequate affordable housing in the nation’s capital.
A 2025 estimates put the Federal Capital Territory’s population at 4.21 million, a figure which is 4.6 percent higher than that of the previous year, making Abuja one of the fastest-growing cities in Africa.
However, the territory’s housing delivery has not kept pace with this population growth rate, as a good number of FCT residents have been priced out of formal accommodation, leaving them in slums and ghetto.
Nigeria’s national housing deficit, according to the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, stands at about 16 million units, though experts peg the figure closer to 28 million. To close this gap, the government says the country must build at least 550,000 housing units annually over the next decade, at a cost of more than N5 trillion each year.
Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Dangiwa, recently admitted that affordability remains the biggest barrier to home ownership, and so the current administration is prioritising large-scale housing delivery to address the issue.
Dangiwa, who disclosed this at the Renewed Hope Public-Private Partnership Summit in Abuja, said “Affordability remains the biggest barrier to home ownership on the continent. We are tackling this by prioritising large-scale housing delivery through public-private partnerships, innovative financing, and government-led interventions.”
Among these interventions is the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme, under which the government plans to deliver 100,000 housing units nationwide, starting with 20,000 in the FCT.
The initiative includes the 3,112-unit Renewed Hope City in Karsana, Abuja, where the Federal Executive Council has already approved N31.6 billion for an access road to open up the site for further development.
Despite these plans, many Abuja residents say they see little impact on the ground. In Mpape, Gwagwalada, Galadimawa, and Apo, where informal settlements continue to grow as people seek cheaper alternatives.
These areas however often face sudden demolition exercises without clear resettlement plans.
A resident of Kabusa, who identified herself simply as Maryam, said she had to move from Lugbe to Kabusa where accommodation is cheaper, but now faces demolition threat as her house has been marked for demolition.
“We moved here because our rent in Lugbe more than doubled in the last one year. But unfortunately we came back from work some months back to see that our house has been marked as illegal. The land lord has advised we move out, but where do they want us to go?” She asked.
Another resident whose building was demolished, Ugo Maduabuchi, said he has been forced to move to Mpape after the demolition of illegal structures in Gishiri community earlier in the year.
Maduabuchi, who said he now lives in an unplanned settlement in Mpape said the several demolition exercise has opened up the city to ghettos rather than reorganising the FCT.
According to him, “Nobody left their states to come to Abuja to live in slums like I am currently doing. I came to Abuja over 25years ago, hustled and building my house in Gishiri but now government has demolished my house and my family is forced to go live in a slum in Mpape.
“Government needs to stop demolition. If you are not addressing the housing challenges, then don’t contribute to making people more miserable.
“Other countries are building houses for their citizens but Nigeria is demolishing the little the people have been able to build, that’s why slums and ghetto will not end in Abuja because more people will keep coming into the city, but then what plans does government have for their accommodation?”
City planners warn that repeated demolitions without corresponding low-cost housing supply only deepen insecurity and urban poverty.
A development consultant in Abuja noted that the city’s population growth has far outpaced infrastructure expansion, leaving low-income earners with few choices.
According to him, “Clearing illegal structures without providing alternatives is not planning, it’s displacement,” he said.
Developers say challenges such as high interest rates, rising construction costs, and bureaucratic bottlenecks continue to push unit prices beyond the reach of ordinary Nigerians.
In parts of Abuja, rents for single rooms have risen by more than 100 percent this year, while landlords now demand two years’ payment upfront.
For many, that has meant retreating to the city’s fringes where land is cheaper but largely unplanned and where basic amenities like water, roads, and waste disposal are absent.
For instance, a tenant living in the Duste-Alhaji area in Bwari Area Council, Mr. Theophilus, said his 2 bedroom rent which was N800,000 in the past 3 years was suddenly increased to N1.2million with very minimal renovation carried out on the building.
Another resident who gave her name as Sandra, blamed the rising cost of house rent to the influx of Internet fraudsters, popularly referred to as “Yahoo boys”.
She said the fraudsters are willing to part with any amount for houses and landlords would rather have them on their properties.
