The Housing Development Advocacy Network (HDAN), yesterday, called on the Federal Government to convert the recently seized housing estate visited by the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, and the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, into a model social housing project dedicated to affordable rental housing.

   Dangiwa and Olukoyede, yesterday, conducted a joint inspection of the seized 753-unit housing estate linked to former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

  The inspection was part of the Federal Government’s full technical evaluation and eventual completion of the housing project. The EFCC recently handed over the estate to the ministry on the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

   The Executive Director of HDAN, Festus Adebayo, who made the call in Abuja, stressed that the seized property, reportedly consisting of high-value villas, should not be sold to the highest bidders, but restructured and retained under public ownership for the benefit of Nigeria’s most disadvantaged population, particularly young people and low-income families.   Adebayo said: “This is a golden opportunity to turn a seized asset into a national solution.

  “We are proposing that the estate be remodelled into one-and two-bedroom units and allocated for heavily subsidised rental to Nigerians through a transparent and equitable process,” Adebayo said.

   He argued that the properties should be allocated via a digital raffle draw, suggesting that interested participants would purchase a maximum of two online raffle tickets linked to their Bank Verification Number (BVN), priced at N10,000 per ticket.     

   The draw would be conducted publicly, with the Minister of Housing personally rolling the raffle ball. He noted that winners would be notified automatically via SMS and subsequently required to sign tenancy agreements with the estate’s managing agency before moving in.

    Adebayo explained that the proceeds from the raffle sales could generate as much as N10 billion if one million Nigerians participate, which would be sufficient to fund the remodelling and completion of the estate.  

    “This makes it a self-financing social housing initiative, eliminating the usual challenge of financial viability associated with rental housing,” he added.

    However, the minister described the estate as a major asset recovery milestone, saying it would be repurposed to serve the public under the Renewed Hope Agenda.