As Nigerians respond positively to the Ministry of Works and Housing portal, which opened last Tuesday for a chance to subscribe to over 5,000 houses under the Federal Government’s National Housing Programme, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, the Minister of Works and Housing, has announced that the Ministry has received a total of 7,315 applications for allocation.
Fashola, who recently testified before the Senate Committee on Lands, Housing, and Urban Development in support of his ministry’s 2022 budget, also provided the Committee with documents detailing the number of applications submitted, completed, and pending processing, as well as a breakdown of the number by state.
The Committee expressed satisfaction with the development in the Housing Sector at the conclusion of the defense, which took the form of a robust interaction, with many, including the Chairman, Senator Sam Egwu, noting with delight that with the portal now open, the Ministry has truly launched out.
The Minister, who said the prices ranged from N7.2 million to N16.5 million for the different categories of houses, explained the criteria for pricing the different categories of houses, pointing out that one of the factors that made the difference in price between the Programme’s houses and those being built by private developers was size.
He informed members of the Committee that the program’s house categories included 1, 2, and 3 bedroom semi-detached bungalows, as well as condominiums (blocks of flats), and that there are price differences among the categories of houses based on size and space, with all bungalows, for example, having adjoining land, making them more expensive than flats.
“When compared to what is available in the private sector in terms of size, the one bedroom with 77sqm of living space, the two bedroom with 90sqm, and the three bedroom with 137sqms are by far larger than houses built by private developers and justify the prices placed on them,” Fashola continued.
The Minister also stated that a one bedroom flat in a condominium is 60 square meters, a two bedroom flat is 76 square meters, and a three bedroom flat is 110 square meters, all of which are larger than what is available in the conventional market, adding, “You cannot get them at such a price in the market.”
“Our thinking is informed by what we have experienced in parts of our lives and what we think is best practice,” the Minister said, urging lawmakers and other interested Nigerians to engage with the portal for answers to all relevant questions, including the quality, size, and appearance of the house in any location across the country. We believe we are in the digital age, and we should start doing things that are in line with it, rather than printing and selling forms.”
In response to a question about possible system manipulation, he stated, “We should not be creating unnecessary bureaucracies that will result in unnecessary human interactions and possibly some of the manipulations you refer to,” adding, “that does not mean that any system cannot be manipulated, but we believe that this is consistent with the goal of government.”
“We now live in a country where we can buy plane tickets using our mobile phones.” Our handheld devices are used to book hotels. “I don’t see why we can’t buy and sell houses with our handheld devices,” the Minister said, adding, “I did it as Governor of Lagos, and I thought we should try it at the national level.” He stated, “We believe that is where we should be going.”
Noting that the portal had only been open for a week, Fashola urged, “Let us give it time to evolve, and I think that 7,315 applications from Nigerians in this time is a very enthusiastic response,” adding that everyone who applied had paid N10,000 through the Remita platform.
“Contrary to popular belief, because conditions are difficult, that form that you would have sold in printed form is being sold digitally, and government is collecting the money for administrative purposes,” the Minister said, adding that while it is open to all Nigerians, some of the conditions that address facelessness include having a passport photograph and a tax clearance certificate, as well as other forms of identification such as a national ID, driver’s license, or Inland Revenue Certificate.
“Affordability is not just a function of the cost but also the mode of payment,” he said, adding that in order to address that issue, the Ministry created mortgage and Rent-to-Own options so that payments could be spread out over time.
Fashola, when asked if the Ministry was duplicating the work of its agencies, the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), said that the Ministry was only conducting a pilot project from which the agencies would continue to roll out in the future.
Senator Sam Egwu, the Chairman of the Committee and former Governor of Ebonyi State, said in his closing remarks that the Minister had answered all of the questions to the best of his ability and thanked him for his diligence and commitment to housing delivery.
“I think you’ll agree with me that the Minister has done a good job of answering the questions we’ve asked him. We’re also impressed that the information you provided indicated that you’d already begun. You’ve made a strong start. As a result, we’ll continue to communicate with you… As I previously stated, we are pleased, and my members are pleased, which is why the Chairman of the House Committee is also present…”, said the Chairman of the Committee.
Mr. Babangida Hussaini, the Permanent Secretary, and Directors in the Ministry’s Housing Sector, Special Advisers, and other relevant Ministry officials were also present at the meeting.
