The Federal Government has announced plans to sell a massive estate comprising 753 housing units, recently recovered from the former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to low and middle-income Nigerians.
The estate, located in Abuja and covering over 150,000 square metres, was described by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as the largest single asset recovery in its history.
It includes duplexes and other residential units and was confiscated following a final forfeiture order issued by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the FCT High Court on December 2, 2024.
Court filings confirmed the property was linked to Emefiele, who in April 2025 sought to reclaim the estate.
He claimed the EFCC had concealed the forfeiture proceedings from him. However, the court dismissed his application.
On May 20, 2025, EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede officially handed over the property to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa.
The move is said to align with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which aims to make homeownership accessible to all Nigerians.
Speaking to Saturday PUNCH, the Director of Press and Public Relations at the Housing Ministry, Badamasi Haiba, said the estate is still under construction.
He explained that structural and integrity assessments will be conducted before the homes are profiled and offered for sale.
Haiba said the homes will be sold through the ministry’s portal [renewedhopehomes.fmhud.gov.ng] — with flexible payment options, including mortgage, instalments, and rent-to-own.
“Next would be to profile the houses and decide how they will be sold to Nigerians. However, the intention of the minister has always been homeownership for all categories of Nigerians, including low and middle-income earners – so we should expect to see such intentions play out here, all-inclusive,” Haib said.
He emphasized the process would be digital and transparent to limit human interference and ensure fairness and public trust.
“These are just 753 units. The ministry has over 10,000 houses nearing completion nationwide under the Renewed Hope Housing Programme,” he added.
Haiba also dismissed concerns that the houses would be secretly allocated to those in power, insisting that the Tinubu-led administration is committed to accountability.
“People will always speculate, maybe due to experiences from years ago. The present Renewed Hope administration is doing something different in promoting transparency and accountability.
“I can only tell you what the ministry is doing. With the renewedhopehomes.fmhud.gov.ng portal, the ministry has cut off human interference to ensure that the sales process is transparent and all-inclusive.
“Any Nigerian can sit in their home, log onto the portal, browse through the different types of units and locations, select the house they want, select a payment option, submit their application, and get an offer letter right there and then.”
