AIHS 2025 to focus on Housing Incentives, Mortgage Reform, Women’s Rights – Adebayo

Barrister Festus Adebayo, Managing Director of Fesadeb Media Group and Convener of the Africa International Housing Show (AIHS), has outlined plans for the 2025 edition of the continent’s largest housing and construction summit.

The event, which is set to run from July 27 to August 1 in Abuja, will spotlight housing incentives, mortgage accessibility, women’s inclusion, and government agency accountability.

Speaking ahead of the event, Adebayo emphasized that housing deserves the same national priority as food security, noting that improved access to shelter could significantly boost health, productivity, and employment across the continent.

“When the government gives attention to housing, employment will be created, productivity will increase. When I sleep well, I think well, I work well,” he said.

He highlighted the recapitalization of the Bank of Industry for food production as an example the housing sector could emulate, stressing the need for targeted government incentives and support for home delivery programs.

Addressing the inefficiencies in Nigeria’s mortgage system, Adebayo questioned why citizens struggle to access home loans despite having steady incomes.

“We will look into what is wrong with the mortgage system, why people cannot walk into a mortgage bank, fill a form, show evidence of their monthly salary, and own a house,” he noted.

The 2025 AIHS will also address gender disparities in housing access, particularly issues affecting widows and women in states where property inheritance laws remain discriminatory.

“Some states in Nigeria don’t allow women to inherit property. There are laws that are against them. So, the women will be with us,” he said, revealing that representatives from UN Women in Nigeria and Cameroon would be participating.

He announced that government agencies such as the Federal Mortgage Bank, the Federal Housing Authority, the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company, and the Ministry of Finance would all be held accountable during the forum.

“We will ask them, ‘What have you achieved in the last one year? How many mortgages have you created? How many houses have you financed?’” he said, adding that agencies will be required to disclose fund utilization and explain how Nigerians can access housing finance.

Adebayo promised that AIHS 2025 will attract stakeholders from over 25 countries, with at least 25,000 attendees and up to 400 distributors.

He also pledged that the forum would conclude with actionable commitments from policymakers.

“Before we leave, policymakers must give us a conversation. We will come up with a way forward,” he affirmed.