By Ade Jacobs
No fewer than 1 million housing units must be built yearly to bridge Nigeria’s housing deficit, Managing Director (MD), Nigeria Police Force Property Development and Construction Company (NPFPDCC), Kemi Olomola Sijuade, has said.
This is coming just as the Senior Special Assistant to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, on Wednesday disclosed that the federal government has signed a public/private partnership with Family Homes Funds Limited (FHFL) to build 300,000 low cost housing units across the country.
The National Bureau for Statistics (NBS) had said 22 million houses are required from both the government and private sector to close the housing gaps in the country.
Sijuade, who spoke in Abuja at the launch of the National Social Housing Programme (NSHP) Model House and Housing Information Portal being implemented by FHFL, noted that 100,000 houses are being built yearly in the country for middle class Nigerians who can afford them, without consideration for many low income citizens.
She estimated the country’s rising population to hit 263 million by 2038, a situation she stated demanded emergency attention and response of government and other stakeholders in the housing sector.
According to her, most housing programmes in the country are unaffordable and funds must be available to increase demand, so that the average income earner will be able to own a home at a cost not too high.
“I am particularly very pleased by this occasion of launching the National Social Housing Programme being implemented by the Family Homes Funds and targeting to construct 300,000 housing units across the country.
“With initiatives and commitments like this, we can all begin to see a ray of hope rising in the horizon towards addressing this unwelcome menace in our country,” she said.
Sijuade posited that the way to achieve this is by providing massive and affordable access to mortgage facilities over prolonged tenures.
“If this is achieved and sufficient awareness is created, like what is being done here today with this event, I am convinced that we would see increasing demand for housing in Nigeria.
“And with growing demands owing to availability and access to affordable housing funds, supply will grow as more developers and other stakeholders will confidently invest in the sector knowing that their returns are guaranteed,” she added.