The Chief Executive Officer of Sigvent Property Trust Limited, a real estate firm, Mr. Benjamin Onigbinde, has advocated the construction of 100 housing units annually in all the 774 local government areas of the country.
Onigbinde, who spoke in an exclusive interview with our Correspondent in Abuja, also called for investment in the promotion of indigenous housing technology outside the present model and advocated for the streamlining of housing development agencies both in development control and financing.
He said: “I believe the time has come for a sustainable solution to our country’s housing development problem, with an estimate of between 17 million to 22 million housing deficit. Over the years the problem has defied all presumed solutions both at private and public angles including the highly rated Public -Private Partnership Models.
” I will also suggest the revamping of low-cost housing estates across the country. All the states in the country are littered with abandoned low-cost housing estates that have constituted eye sore and become a huge dead capital in the economy. It’s also now more important to shift to a bottom-up strategy by engaging in the construction of 100 housing units per year in each local government which stimulates the community economy.
“There is also a need to invest in the promotion of indigenous housing technology outside the present model. Much emphasis should be put on brick technology which is widely employed in places like the United Kingdom. Also, collaboration with community landowners will increase land supply for housing purposes and also reduce bottlenecks in land acquisitions and ownership.
” The establishment of Community Home Development Associations in the mode of cooperative societies with solve many of the financial problems involved in home ownership; while the construction skill and building artisan development is paramount to the overall achievement of the overall objective of increasing housing stock. More skill acquisition in the building industry needs to be employed.
“The housing market is becoming too porous, the free entry and exit to the market has made it difficult to regulate resulting in the abuse of customers’ interests. We need to have a stringent code of conduct for housing developers as well as a strategically structured customer service bureau for the industry.
” Most importantly, there is an urgent need for a streamlining of housing development agencies both in development control and financing. The much-awaited time is here, I believe the new administration is here to employ housing development to solve the major economic problems, create jobs, increase building capacity, and reduce security problem.
