Fashola introduces 10-year National Housing Strategy

Babatunde Fashola, the minister of works and housing, has acknowledged that the federal government is unable to meet all of Nigerians’ housing needs, which highlights the need to foster a favourable business environment.

The departing minister made the statement on Friday at the ministry’s headquarters during the unveiling of the National Housing Strategy Blueprint.

The document is reportedly a 10-year strategic blueprint intended to integrate all current housing projects by various stakeholders into a single National Housing Strategy.

He said that the current administration’s various affordable housing initiatives did not result in the creation of more homes than private businesses.

He asserts that the private sector continues to be the primary force behind the nation’s housing solutions and that the document will unleash the potential of private capital in the industry.

Nothing the government does in the housing market can compete with or deliver more than what the private sector can, he asserted. The main motivators, whether it be a state or federal government building, are, in the end, the ability of private money to develop more homes.

“When you consider the size of the land holding, aside from the state government, which owns the majority of the land, the federal government doesn’t have as much land as the total amount of land held by the private sector.”

Read Also: Kwankwaso’s switch to APC could trigger turmoil – Chieftain

The paper, according to the former governor of Lagos, was required to pave the way for housing provision during the following ten years.

Fashola, who emphasised the need for statistics, gave the assurance that the planned census of the population would show how severe the housing need is in the nation.

“I am launching this paper with mixed feelings,” he declared, “since as a private sector initiative, the document represents a very welcome and alternative answer to the housing problem.

In order to assist and release the power of private capital and the private sector to supply housing, this paper was created.

“Recently, the National Population Commission chairman and his staff visited me for a briefing and presented some of the work they had done, which is impressive.

“Data on who rents their homes, who owns their homes, who has other homes, and what kind of homes individuals reside in will be collected, among other things.

“Let’s hold our breath, and when the figure appears, release it. We will be able to gauge the true scope of the issue with great reliability.

The policy is based on five key pillars: affordability, standard, accessibility, fit for population, and sustainability for the provision of Quality Housing for all Nigerians, according to Senior Vice President of the Financial Market Dealers Quotation Group, Emmanuel Etaderhi, earlier in his presentation.

He emphasised that revamping land administration and titling procedures may possibly unleash dead capital estimated at US$300.00 billion. He claimed that the housing value chain has the capacity to enable sustainable economic growth and development via a strong multiplier effect.