Nigeria needs 700,000 housing units annually to tackle deficit, Durojaye says
By James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gateway Mortgage Bank Limited, Samuel Durojaye, has said that Nigeria needs to construct approximately 700,000 housing units annually over the next decade to significantly reduce its housing deficit.
Durojaye noted that achieving the target would require sustained investment, improved access to housing finance and greater collaboration among key stakeholders in the real estate and mortgage sectors.
Durojaye, who disclosed this at the 9th Annual General Meeting of Gateway Mortgage Bank Limited, held in Abeokuta, Ogun State
described mortgage institutions as vital to bridging the country’s housing gap, explaining that they play a dual role in facilitating homeownership for individuals and providing property developers with access to the financing needed to expand housing construction.
He stressed that strengthening mortgage financing would improve the capacity of developers to deliver more housing units and make homeownership more accessible to Nigerians.
He added that increasing the supply of affordable housing would help ease pressure on the property market, particularly by moderating the persistent rise in rental costs across major urban centres.
According to him, addressing the housing deficit requires a sustained focus on expanding housing supply and improving access to affordable financing to ensure that more Nigerians can secure decent and affordable homes.
The chairman, however, identified access to long-term funding as one of the major constraints confronting mortgage banks, explaining that the long repayment periods associated with housing loans made it difficult for institutions to rely on short-term deposits.
“The minimum tenure for a mortgage is 10, 15 or 20 years. You cannot take people’s money when they expect it back in 90 days and put it into a property that will not pay back until 15 years,” he said.
He therefore called for funding arrangements that would align with the long-term nature of mortgage financing, stressing that sustainable access to capital was essential for expanding homeownership.
Durojaye also urged Nigerians, particularly young professionals and salary earners, to embrace mortgage financing early in their careers, rather than commit substantial portions of their income to recurring rent payments.
“Instead of paying ₦2m in rent every year, why don’t you buy a house and start paying ₦200,000 monthly from your salary?” he asked.
He explained that mortgage arrangements enabled prospective homeowners to spread the cost of acquiring properties over an agreed period, allowing them to build long-term assets instead of continually spending on rent.
To improve public awareness and encourage greater participation in the mortgage market, the chairman said the bank had intensified its enlightenment campaigns through radio programmes, engagements with market associations and interactions with civil society organisations.
He added that the institution was also prepared to leverage available Federal Government intervention funds to expand access to housing finance.
The performance figures were disclosed at the bank’s 9th Annual General Meeting held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, where shareholders considered its audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025.
Speaking on the positive growth trajectory of the bank, Durojaye sai
Gateway Mortgage Bank Limited has recorded a 12 per cent increase in profit after tax, rising from ₦179.08m in the 2024 financial year to ₦199.79m in 2025, despite prevailing economic challenges.
He added that the bank also recorded a 22 per cent growth in total assets, which rose from ₦11.09bn to ₦13.52bn, while its loan portfolio expanded by 26 per cent to ₦5.77bn.
He attributed the performance partly to the support of the Ogun State government, its ministries and agencies, noting that the bank had continued to play an active role in the state’s housing development initiatives, by providing mortgage facilities to beneficiaries of government housing schemes.
A breakdown of the financial statements showed that profit before tax increased by approximately five per cent, from ₦271.25m in 2024 to ₦284.34m in 2025.
Interest income from loans rose by 28 per cent, from ₦756m to ₦969.48m, while investment income increased by 63 per cent, from ₦689.36m to ₦1.13bn.
The bank’s deposit liabilities also grew by 36 per cent, from ₦3.69bn to ₦5.02bn, indicating an increase in customer deposits during the period.
However, operating expenses rose by 32 per cent, from ₦1.12bn to ₦1.48bn. The bank also recorded an impairment allowance charge of ₦16.49m, compared with an impairment reversal of ₦13.28m in the preceding financial year.
Meanwhile, the Ogun State Commissioner for Finance, Otunba Dapo Okubadejo, who represented Governor Dapo Abiodun at the AGM, attributed the state’s growing investment profile to improvements in infrastructure, security and the business environment.
Okubadejo described investment as the fundamental driver of economic growth, explaining that industrial expansion generated employment, increased household incomes, strengthened government revenue and stimulated activities across various sectors.
“What increases Gross Domestic Product is fundamentally investment,” he said.
He noted that the establishment of manufacturing companies in Ogun State had strengthened local value chains by encouraging the sourcing and processing of raw materials within the state, thereby reducing transportation and production costs.
The Commissioner said the state government’s development agenda, anchored on its ISEYA framework, covering infrastructure, social welfare and well-being, education and human capital development, youth empowerment, and agriculture and food security, had continued to support economic expansion.
According to him, the administration’s industrialisation drive was underpinned by deliberate investments in road infrastructure, electricity, security and the development of industrial clusters.
He disclosed that the Abiodun administration had constructed and rehabilitated more than 1,700 kilometres of roads across the state, with projects distributed among its major geographical divisions.
He said the improved road network had eased transportation and logistics challenges for manufacturers while making Ogun State increasingly attractive to local and foreign investors.
“Today, when you look at the industrial corridors, particularly along the Sagamu interchange to Abeokuta, you see the proliferation of factories and industries. There can only be one reason why investors are trooping into Ogun State,” he said.
Okubadejo identified security as another critical consideration for investors, saying the state government had continued to support security agencies with technology, logistics, infrastructure and financial assistance to tackle kidnapping and other security threats.
On electricity, he disclosed that more than 500 companies had been connected to independent power arrangements through partnerships with private sector operators, providing businesses with relatively stable electricity outside the national grid.
He said the initiative had helped reduce production costs, particularly for manufacturers whose operations depended heavily on uninterrupted power supply.
The commissioner also highlighted the government’s industrial cluster initiative, designed to provide businesses with shared infrastructure and essential services, including electricity, water, security, fire management and waste disposal.
He identified the proposed and existing industrial development corridors as including the Ijebu industrial corridor, the Remo cluster around the Gateway International Airport and its proposed aerotropolis, the Abeokuta corridor and the Egba industrial cluster.
According to him, the shared-infrastructure model would enable businesses to operate more efficiently without individually bearing the enormous costs of providing essential facilities.
He further disclosed that Ogun State had recently recorded a major investment commitment with the groundbreaking of the Lead Group’s first industrial park, valued at $1.8bn.
On the Gateway International Airport, Okubadejo said the state government conceived the project as an aerotropolis, an airport-centred urban development designed to stimulate commercial, industrial and other economic activities beyond conventional passenger and cargo operations.
He said the airport’s 4.1-kilometre runway was designed to accommodate large cargo aircraft, while also supporting passenger operations.
The commissioner added that the airport’s accessibility through major road networks, including the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Sagamu-Benin Expressway and Abeokuta-Ikenne corridor, gave it a strategic advantage.
He also disclosed that the state government had acquired two Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft, each with a seating capacity of 90 passengers, as part of efforts to strengthen the airport’s commercial operations.
According to him, one of the aircraft had been deployed for operations between Gateway International Airport and Abuja, while the other was being managed by ValueJet as part of its fleet.
On housing, Okubadejo said the state had delivered an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 housing units under the present administration.
He explained that the projects, spread across different parts of Ogun State, were designed to cater for different income groups, including low- and high-income earners, while encouraging more people to live and work in the state.
He also highlighted reforms in land administration, particularly the introduction of the Ogun State Land Administration and Revenue Management System (OLARMS), which he said had improved land documentation and the processing of Certificates of Occupancy through digital procedures.
Although the system experienced some challenges during its initial implementation, the commissioner expressed confidence that the difficulties were being progressively addressed.
On the broader national economy, Okubadejo said the state government was encouraged by improvements in key economic indicators, including foreign exchange stability, foreign reserves and investment activities.
He acknowledged, however, that economic reforms required time and continued sacrifices, maintaining that the state remained committed to strengthening its position as a preferred investment destination and industrial hub.