The Cross River State House of Assembly has begun deliberations over the alarming rise in house rents across Calabar and its environs, describing the trend as “unreasonable, unprovoked, and economically destabilising.”
The debate followed a motion raised by Rt. Hon. Davies Etta, member representing Abi State Constituency, during Tuesday’s plenary session in Calabar. Etta condemned what he termed arbitrary and exploitative rent hikes imposed by landlords and housing agents, warning that the situation was pushing many residents into distress.
He lamented that several landlords, often acting on the advice of agents, now charge exorbitant rates for old, dilapidated houses with leaking roofs and poor drainage.
“Buildings erected over two to three decades ago and many with leaking roofs, faulty plumbing, and poor drainage, are now rented out at outrageous rates,” Etta said. “A self-contained room on Marian Road now costs as high as ₦1.5 million per year, while in Calabar South, a one-bedroom apartment goes for between ₦800,000 and ₦1 million. In Parliamentary Extension, E1, State Housing, and CICC, tenants pay up to ₦2 million or more for a one- or two-bedroom flat.”
Etta described the unregulated rent surge as “heartless, economically destabilising, and socially dangerous,” stressing that housing is a fundamental human need, not a privilege. He called for urgent legislation to regulate rent and leasing practices, protect tenants’ dignity, and ensure affordability.
Other lawmakers backed his call. Hon. Standley Nsemo (Calabar Municipality) blamed housing agents for fuelling the crisis, urging their strict regulation or outright ban. Hon. Omang Omang (Bekwarra) emphasised that citizens’ welfare must remain the government’s priority, while Hon. Francis Ogban (Biase) linked the rent surge to rising crime and moral decline. Hon. Ashakia Pius (Obanliku) went further, calling for the total abolition of housing agents.
Speaker Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem commended the motion as “timely and people-centred,” pledging that the 10th Assembly would enact laws to create fairness and affordability in the state’s housing market.
“This Assembly belongs to the people. We will continue to stand with them to create balance, fairness, and affordability in housing across Cross River State,” the Speaker assured.
The rent crisis in Cross River mirrors a nationwide trend. According to The PUNCH (October 5, 2025), the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment across Nigeria now averages ₦2.5 million annually—one of the sharpest increases in recent years.
From Lagos to Kano and Port Harcourt to Ibadan, millions of Nigerians are feeling the strain. Rents now range from ₦250,000 in inner Benin City to as high as ₦20 million in parts of Lagos’s luxury districts, highlighting the deepening housing affordability crisis across the country.
Comments