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Against the backdrop of the widening housing deficit in the country resulting from unfriendly policies, the need for governments at the federal and state level to see the issue of housing as a matter of concern and priority has been stressed.
The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Le’Venue Property Co. Ltd, Mr. Jemine Adollo, who spoke to Vanguard Homes & Property in an interview on the need by both the federal and state governments to direct their focus on housing as much as it is being done in oil and power sectors, said this is the only way Nigeria’s low income earners can have roofs over their heads with their Meagre income.
Lamenting that there is no clear direction for housing by the federal and state governments after 100 days of the new administration in Nigeria, the chief executive officer of the Lagos-based real estate firm noted that “In the area of housing, this present government has not really shown us a clear direction of where they want to go. We had hoped that on coming in, they will give us a clear chart of what they want to do in terms of housing.
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“We all know that the housing deficit in Nigeria which is put at 17 million is even understated. It is beyond this figure. We had thought that when a new government comes into place, housing for the Nigerian people will be something major on their development plan. But in the past 100 days, we have not seen that. Rather, all we have been hearing is probes. Fine, we need to probe, but we also need to know where we are going. I am not sure the current government in Delta state, my home state has any plan in terms of housing. Same with the government at the federal level. They have no plan for housing”, Adollo stated.
According to him, “It will be good for us the professionals to let them know on time what needs to be done, if they have the thought. If they do have the thought, they need to inform us on what they want to do, so that we can advise them appropriately. Over the years, what has happened in the industry is that many governments have come with ideas that they have not been able to implement.
“Several times, they have made people who are not experts or know nothing about housing as Ministers of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, or Managing Director of Federal Housing Authority. Then, they also engage people that know nothing about construction or social housing. That is what has been happening over the years. So, we need to question the government about how they intend to take care of us, the citizens of this nation when it comes to housing.
“Housing is not a luxury, but a necessity. The minute you give a man shelter, it is assumed that 80 per cent of his problems is solved. Then he can concentrate on other things that are of importance to him, and you will see that that person will become an asset to the society. For me, I need my governor to make housing a priority in Delta state. That is the easiest way the people can feel or get the dividends of democracy. He needs to concentrate on infrastructure and housing.
“Provide housing at a give-away price to the people of Delta State. Immediately that is done, our people will focus more on how to build the state, rather than thinking of how to go and burst pipelines and engage in other illicit activities. So, even the government at the centre should make sure this housing thing is a major focus for them as well.
“The President was on BBC recently, promising that by 30th September, there will be a cabinet in place. We are hoping that someone who will be appointed as minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development will be somebody from the industry that has the technical know-how of the industry. The Delta State governor and the President should bring in technocrats, people that understand the industry. Pick them from the private sector and let them show how housing problem of the country can be checkmated. So, that is the idea that we have, that we want to sell to the federal and state governments”, Adollo said.
Reacting to the policy of the government that it should not involve itself in construction of houses, but to provide enabling environment for developers to build, Adollo said “We are not saying the government should go into actual construction of houses for the people. What we the developers are saying is that there is the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN). If you are lucky, it takes one year or more to access funding from FMBN. This is not encouraging to developers.
“Even the houses to be purchased with funds from FMBN are not available. Remember that lands belong to the governments whether at the federal or state level. The cost of acquisition of land is very high. So, if you are acquiring land at a very exorbitant price and the interest rates are also very high because you are not able to access funds from FMBN, where does that leave us?, We are back to square one.
“Then all the houses that developers have built become out of the reach of the common man. Right now, the maximum fund you can access from any of the primary mortgage institutions (PMIs) is N15million, formerly it was N5million for decades.