By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
The Vice President Prof .Yemi Osibanjo has tasked stakeholders in the housing sector to construct and come up with strategies towards repositioning the production of affordable housing in Nigeria.
The Vice President who was the special guest of honour represented by the Minister of State II for Power, Works and Housing, Surv. Suleiman Hassan Zarma made the disclosure during a two days conference organized by Housing Circuit Magazine in conjunction with the Senate Committee on Lands , Housing &Urban Development ,tagged” Addressing Housing Stock Deficit in Nigeria : A Holistic View “ was held in Abuja yesterday.
Prof. Osibanjo while declaring the conference open said “the provision of accessible and affordable housing is one of the strategic national imperatives for guaranteeing the well-being and productivity of the citizenry.
He said “ housing is a critical component in the socio-economic and political development of mankind , and it has been universally acknowledged as a second most essential human need after food”.
“ For a close to a decade now , the figure of housing deficits has been put at 17million , thus putting to question the reliability of this statistics. However, what is obvious is that the deficit in housing requirements is unacceptably high. Despite the various policies and strategies adopted by the federal government aimed at combating the housing problems of the citizenry, not much as has been accomplished. Sadly too, this applies to the states and local governments “, Prof Osibanjo emphasized.
The Vice President lamented that this phenomenon has given rise to unprecedented urbanization resulting from high rural -urban migration which as created large demand for affordable housing accommodations and has rise to slum population in the urban areas and inadequate infrastructural facilities in the rural areas . “ it is apparent that one of the major problems migrating against housing delivery in Nigeria has been that of accessibility, ownership and land use “.
He also assured that the Federal government through the federal ministry of Power,Works and Housing is leading the drive on lands and housing reforms to make land readily accessible for the provision of shelter for Nigeria .
He noted that the federal government is committed to improving critical infrastructure development through the delivery of good road transport network and affordable housing across the country.
While mention strategies that can reduce cost of decent housing must be with serval issues . The inhibiting factor includes access to land , inefficient mechanism for acquiring or transforming property rights, lack of adequate infrastructure, dearth of effective strategy for housing projects, over reliance on important building materials administrative bottlenecks associated with land transaction among others.
He urged stakeholders to implored and focused on the challenges faced in the infrastructure and housing sector of the economy.
Earlier, in his welcoming addressed the Chairman Senate Committee on Housing , Sen. ( Dr.) Barnabas Gemade expressed that ,the theme of this conference which is addressing a housing Stock Deficit in Nigeria : A Holistic View , is quiet appropriate as the President Muhmmade Buhari’s led administration has put in place an increased public mass housing programmed that covers the 36 states of the Federation . “ you will agree with me that shelter is important to man , as such every man , woman , youth , and child has a inalienable right to secure place to live “.
“ I make bold to say that our committee’s mandate is an inclusive one ,” He said . According to Sen . Gemade “ it is in view of the foregoing that urgent legislative action is required to fast track the reform and commercialization of the Federal Authority has been on going since 2003. Our committee will work with relevant agencies to fast track the restructuring and commercialization of the Federal Housing Authority ( FHA)”.
He reiterated that” our committee is equally of the view that to strengthen public institutions such as FHA and FMBN they will explore the possibility of their benefitting from the Central Bank ‘s bank N30billion Real Estate Development intervention fund”.
The Chairman senate committee on Housing noted that there are many challenges impended housing development in our country which must be addressed such as budget not being released in time thereby frustrating works as a result of lack of funds , lack of a clear mortgage system that permits easy access to funding .
He said to addressed these challenges we must also seeks ways of how funds can be freed from certain sectors of the economy with much capital that can be deployed to the housing sector for it development as it is done in other climes pension funds become handy in this regards and we must look critical at the mortgage system.
It is hoped that with the amendment of Pension Act , we can have a way of accessing these fund to boost home development and bridge the gap of housing deficit which is generally believed to be in the region of 15million , Sen. Gemade maintained.
Consequently, Surv. (Rev.) Ugochukwu Chima President Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN)and Chairman Housing Circuit Magazine Advisory Board in his welcoming speech said the theme of the conference Addressing Housing Stock Deficit in Nigeria , A Holistic View is apt chosen to remind us of the urgent need for joint collaborative efforts amongst all stakeholders towards unleashing the socio- economic potentials in the housing sector.
Surv .( Rev. ) Chima stated that “ Globally there has been a paradigm shifts in the housing needs and the delivery mechanism, yet our laws , regulations, policies and practices are very inadequate and unable to deliver the need change we desperately need . Housing is no more solely about shelter provision, rather it has become an veritable avenue for employment generation, inclusive economic growth , and multiplier effect in the local economy “. The President of REDAN said “ our primary focus is on solution provision and not to blame trading . It is on understanding that challenges and the strategy to get it right . It is on who does what , when , where , with who among other in order to move the sector forward”.
He said an attempt to stimulate discussions, socialise , emerging ideas/ innovations. “ the real estate sector is diverse and requires realtime , multidisciplinary and multilevel cooperative of all parties for the unlocking of the huge potential therein.
