On behalf of the thousands of real estate marketers, consultants, and professionals who make up the Real Estate Marketers and Consultants Association of Nigeria (REMCAN), we extend our warmest and most sincere congratulations to Engr. (Dr.) Muttaqha Rabe Darma on his appointment as Minister of Housing and Urban Development by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This appointment, we believe, is not merely timely it is providential.
Nigeria stands at a housing crossroads. With a deficit estimated at over 28 million units, a rental market that has become hostile to ordinary citizens, and a real estate sector plagued by fraud and informality, the Ministry of Housing needs more than an administrator it needs a builder. In Engr. (Dr.) Darma, his engineering pedigree and doctoral expertise signal the kind of structural, solutions-oriented thinking that this crisis demands. We welcome his appointment with genuine optimism and a readiness to partner.
"His appointment is timely. Nigeria's housing deficit is a national emergency and we need the right expertise, the right will, and the right partnerships to begin closing it."
REMCAN, ON THE APPOINTMENT OF ENGR. (DR.) MUTTAQHA RABE DARMA
But congratulations alone are not enough. REMCAN takes this moment to raise a concern that has defined and limited Nigeria's real estatesector for too long: the crisis of identity. The vast majority of real estate practice in Nigeria operates in an informal, unrecognised, and unregulated space. Thousands of hardworking marketers and consultants men and women who daily connect Nigerians with homes, land, and investment properties do so without any formal recognition from the state.
This is not a small administrative gap. It is a structural failure with enormous consequences. Without recognition, there is no accountability. Without accountability, fraud proliferates. Without regulation, client protection is impossible. And without an organised sector, Nigeria cannot attract the volume and quality of investment domestic or diaspora that its housing crisis demands.
REMCAN'S FORMAL REQUEST TO THE MINISTRY
WE RESPECTFULLY CALL ON THE HONOURABLE MINISTER TO ACT ON THE FOLLOWING
Grant Formal Recognition to REMCAN.Officially recognise the Real Estate Marketers and Consultants Association of Nigeria as the representative body for real estate marketing and consultancy practitioners giving our members a legitimate identity and a seat at the policy table.
Establish a Framework for the Informal Real Estate Sector. Work with REMCAN and relevant regulators to create a clear, accessible licensing and registration framework that brings informal practitioners into a structured, accountable system without excluding those who have served Nigerians honestly for years.
Prioritise Identity as the Foundation of Sector Reform. Mandate the creation of a verifiable national register of real estate practitioners so that investors, clients, and institutions can independently confirm who they are dealing with. Identity is the first step toward trust; trust is the first step toward investment.
Engage REMCAN in Housing Policy Dialogue. Include our association in ministerial consultations, housing summits, and policy design processes. We are on the frontlines of the Nigerian real estate market every day our members' experience is data that no committee report can replicate.
The real estate sector is not peripheral to Nigeria's development it is central to it. Housing drives construction, construction drives employment, employment drives consumption, and consumption drives growth. A well-organised, formally recognised, and properly regulated real estate marketing sector is not a bureaucratic nicety. It is a national economic asset.
"We did not come to this ministry with complaints alone. We came with our hands open ready to work, ready to partner, and ready to help build a real estate sector that Nigeria can be proud of. We trust that Engr. (Dr.) Darma will meet us there."