FG partners REDAN on 10,000 low-cost houses

BY ABU IDRISU;

The Federal Government is collaborating with the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria to develop the recently unveiled 10,000 housing units under the affordable home ownership scheme.

The partnership, according to REDAN, would allow the association to bring its expertise to bare during the construction of the houses. The first phase of the scheme was officially rolled out last Thursday.

The President, REDAN, Mr. Olabode Afolayan, told journalists in Abuja that the project, unlike a few others, was not hijacked by the Federal Government and expressed the hope that the houses will be made available to Nigerians according to schedule.

He said, “From the beginning of this new initiative, we have been together with the government and all things that were put together, in most cases, reflect the collective aspiration and inputs of major stakeholders like REDAN. So we are part of it.

“The Federal Ministry of Finance is not hijacking the project. In the past, you discover that people will come up with the idea of including government ministry but today you can see that it is a collective programme. What we believe in is exactly what is taking place today.”

Afolayan described the delivery of houses as a chain which involved virtually everybody “from the consumer to the developer and to those who create the mortgages.”

He noted that the demand for homes would not be effective except there was a robust mortgage system, adding that this was more pronounced in Nigeria as the income of many citizens was low.

The REDAN president called for specifics with respect to the housing deficit in Nigeria, and stated that the shortfall should be backed with data.

He said, “The so called housing deficit in Nigeria is supposed to be backed up with data. We don’t rely on what they say as deficits so as to make us invest, no. We want to know specifics. When you say 17 million for instance, I don’t know the precise places