The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqha Darma, has uncovered major discrepancies in official progress reports on the federal government’s Renewed Hope housing project in Katsina State, finding that only about 130 of the 250 housing units reported as completed were actually finished.
During an unannounced inspection of the project site, Mr Darma discovered that official ministry reports had significantly overstated progress on the development.
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While briefing documents submitted to the ministry indicated that 250 housing units had been completed, a physical verification conducted by the minister showed that only about 130 units were ready.
The remaining 120 units—nearly half of the reported figure—remain incomplete, despite the contracts having been awarded about 18 months ago.
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Threefold delay
The housing scheme was awarded in December 2024 with a six-month completion timeline, meaning the projects were due for completion by June 2025.
However, one year after that deadline had elapsed, several contractors had yet to complete basic road infrastructure and housing blocks at the site.
“It is not good for someone who has signed a contract agreement and said he will finish a project within a specified period, only to delay it for over three times the agreed duration without obtaining an extension,” a visibly dissatisfied Mr Darma said during the inspection.
The minister rejected claims of funding constraints raised by some contractors, noting that none of the defaulting firms formally approached the ministry to seek an extension of time as required under contractual and procurement procedures.
“None of them did that, and as far as we are concerned, they have violated the contract agreement,” he added.
Deterioration and reporting discrepancies
Apart from the discrepancy in the reported number of completed units, the ministry also identified signs of early structural deterioration in some of the buildings standing on the site, raising concerns about construction quality.
Mr Darma warned that the federal government would not accept defective structures from contractors.
“If we take over these houses and find them in bad shape, we will not accept them. The contractors will be required to fix all defects before handover,” he said.
The minister said the findings in Katsina highlighted the risks of relying solely on reports submitted from project sites without independent verification.
He directed ministry officials to immediately convene a meeting with all contractors handling the project. He also ordered a comprehensive audit detailing the identities of the firms involved, mobilisation dates, contract terms, amounts released, and actual completion percentages.
The report is expected on the minister’s desk before the middle of the week.
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Race against time
The Katsina development housing programme forms part of the federal government’s broader target of delivering more than 15,000 housing units nationwide through direct budgetary funding, public-private partnerships (PPPs), the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), and the Federal Housing Authority (FHA).
With the administration in the last quarter of its tenure, the setbacks in Katsina underscore broader implementation challenges confronting one of the government’s flagship social infrastructure programmes.
Reaffirming his commitment to reviving the project, Mr Darma said a technical assessment team would be deployed to conduct a full verification of work done on the site, insisting that the houses must be completed and made fit for occupancy.
“Before the end of this administration, I want to see between 80 and 90 per cent of these projects completed and delivered to people. Housing is meant for human beings, not rodents and animals,” the minister said.
