Yemi Obafemi
Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria, REDAN said it was ready to work with the incoming administration of President-Elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu in addressing the issue of decent and affordable housing for Nigerians.
The group warned the incoming administration not to follow the part the outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari administration as they described Buhari administration as low performance in the last eight years as it concerns affordable and decent housing for all.
The group urged the incoming administration to ensure that they involved in the business of building houses.
REDAN President, Dr. Aliyu Oroji Wamakko said what is needed from the incoming administration is to create the enabling environment for the private sector in the built industry to flourish.
Wamakko stressed that it is not the business of the government to build houses but that of the private sector.
He therefore urged the Tinubu administration to channel whatever intervention funds to the private sector in a single digit interest loan.
“We have assisted past governments and we are going to assist the incoming government.
“What we are looking at is, let the construction of houses be private sector driven. It is not a situation where government institutions build houses themselves. They have tried it before and nothing meaningful has come out.
“So we believe that the government is to provide an enabling environment for the private sector to strive in the aspect of provision of houses for Nigerians. The incoming administration has its own agenda for housing but the outgoing administration promised Nigerians that it will provide one million housing units each year. I am sure that they are battling with 3700” he said.
According to him, with the amount of intervention funds pumped into Family Homes, the Buhari administration should have at least 10,000 housing units on ground and not the paltry 3700 that the government is celebrating.
Speaking further, he pointed out that prices of government built houses are generally on the high side, which he said contradicts the promise of affordable housing to Nigerians.
He therefore urged the president-elect to take decisive decision in ensuring that the needful is done
“Definitely, I am 100 percent sure that if we were to be given the amount of money that was used in building these houses, instead of 3700 housing units, I am sure of giving you 10,000 housing units.
“There is need for the government to understand that what the private sector needs is an enabling environment”
He said the government intervention should be able to provide intervention funds at a single digit loan for developers, who would use the money to build, pay back the debt and also create employment.
Wamakko said members of REDAN would be willing to accept any intervention fund whose interest rate is not more than 9%.
“If it is a single digit, say between 6 to 9%, we will be willing to collect and we now provide these houses at an affordable rate
“If the government should also give us land, so that we don’t use our money to buy the land, it will bring down the price of the houses drastically and every civil servant would be able to get a roof over his head and by so doing, it will be a win-win for the government, while we as private firm pay taxes on our corporate firm, pay back the loan, pay the interest and also create employment opportunities” he added.
