NIESV set to hold forum on improvement of housing delivery

Estate surveyors and valuers in the country plan to hold a forum on how the country can reduce its housing deficit through effective mass housing delivery.

The forum, known as the 6th National Housing Summit, and scheduled to hold in Abuja on October 8 and 9, is being organised by the Faculty of Housing, Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers.

The faculty said it was worried about the lack of political will to solve the problem of housing in the country, hence, the need to take the forum to the seat of power.

The Planning Committee Chairman, Mr. Kehinde Abayomi, said the theme of the summit would be ‘Alternative building techniques for mass housing delivery’ and would focus, among other things, on a new innovation capable of producing up to 1,000 units of quality and affordable houses from foundation to the roof within one month.

Abayomi, who represented the Chairman of the Faculty of Housing, NIESV, Mr. Chika Okafor, at a press briefing ahead of the summit, said stakeholders would also be educated on how to finance mass housing delivery.

He stated, “The main reason for our steady housing problems in Nigeria can be traced to lack of leadership, vision and political will as well as a well-structured institution to drive government policies and programmes.

“We have private real estate developers, who among others, can collaborate with the relevant government agencies to build houses for a target group and such houses being allocated to be acquired based on need, but not sold in the open market based on highest bidders as it is the practice now.”

He stated that the target group for the innovation could be the low and medium income earners who desired accommodation.

The Secretary of the faculty, Mr. Tosin Kadiri, said the summit would be specific about affordability and alternative building methods.

A former Chairman of the faculty, Mr. Casmir Anyanwu, said the summit was part of advocacy.

“The faculty is mainly about advocacy, pointing out the direction to go for both the government and the people,” he stated.

Credit: Punch Newspaper