Challenges of Public Housing in a Democratic Nigeria: a Case Study of the Presidential Mandate Housing Scheme

This study examined the challenges of public housing in a democratic Nigeria using the Presidential Mandate Housing Scheme as a case study. Data were derived from purposively selected members of staff of public institutions charged with the responsibility of implementing this scheme in urban areas of Southern Nigeria through interview enquiries and participant observation. These were analyzed using content analysis. The result shows that the scheme was implemented in very few States in Southern part of Nigeria with miniscule number of housing units constructed in those States. Poor programme conception and planning, funding inadequacies and the dearth of preferred building materials were identified as the key challenges that led to the failure of this scheme. The paper argues that despite the return of democratic rule in 1999 and subsequent adoption of the New National Housing and Urban Development Policy in 2002, low organizational capacity of public housing agencies, the lack of collaborations between these agencies and private sector organizations and the none availability of reliable local building materials constitute serious impediments to smooth and successful implementation of public housing programmes in Nigeria. It therefore suggests that the prospects of public housing in democratic Nigeria are contingent upon addressing these challenge