At 6% Interest Rate, Lagos State is Closing Housing Deficit

Fadekemi Ajakaiye

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said at 6% simple interest rate, Lagos State was best committed to providing affordable housing for the teeming populace compared to any other organisation, state or federal government.

The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinpelu Fatai, at the 2021 Housing Summit, held recently in Abuja, said, “In Lagos we have commissioned eleven estates so far. What I’m selling at Iponri for N30 million I’m selling it in Igbogbo at N8.5 million. You pay 5 per cent and you pay the rest over the next nine years but we don’t allow you sell until you have finished paying at simple interest rate of 6 per cent.

“I challenge any organisation here in Nigeria, either federal or state that has been able to provide that.”

On urban renewal plans, Sanwo-Olu said, “We are looking at a position that in the next 20 years we have to be thinking vertical, we are looking at the Singapore and Hong Kong models, we have 50 hectares in Ijanikin so that the rail line can evacuate people into the island.”

The President, Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Emmanuel Okas Wike said the country would require the sum of N24 trillion to bridge the existing housing deficit.

He lamented that past efforts by government to make houses available for the masses failed because the private sector was ignored.

He noted that though there were many unoccupied houses in cities, especially in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the masses cannot afford them and so continue to lack decent accommodation.

Wike stressed that private sector involvement could help bridge the housing gap.

Wike said the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has commissioned some professionals to research and come up “with a genuine, reliable, scientific and verifiable data on the nation’s actual housing needs and make suggestions on way forward.”

To address housing deficit in the country, Wike suggested the creation of Housing Infrastructure Fund and the use of local materials by the government.

The Managing Director of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Sen. Gbenga Ashafa, represented by General Manager Procurement, Mr Anetor Thomas also advocated government’s collaboration with the private sector, adding that there should be transition from cash and carry home ownership to mortgage system as practiced in the developed world.

He equally urged the government to look into banks’ interest rates, stating that the prevailing rates were too high and unattractive for developers.

In his address the Convener and CEO of Housing Circuit Limited, Seun Jegede identified corruption as a major cause of Housing deficit. “Corruption is endemic in the body politics, invariably affecting the Housing chain and we are all culpable. The recent report from ICPC about two civil servants said to have allegedly acquired over 300 houses is a reflection of our moral decadence.”

The event had in attendance Commissioners for Housing drawn from different states, policy makers, professionals, real estate developers and enthusiasts. Five participants bagged different awards for their contributions in their various fields in the built industry.

The awardees included a retired Surveyor General of the Federation (SGoF), Sur. Taiwo Samuel Adeniran; the President of NIESV; Engineer Chika Felicitas Ebenebe, Regional Technical Head, Globacom, Minna Region, Dr. Babagana Adam, Director, FCTA Department of Outdoor Advertisement and Signage and TPL Sunday Audu, Chief Town Planning Officer, FCDA.