Lagos State government says there is a housing gap of about 2.3 million houses.
This was disclosed by Hon. Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, Commissioner for Housing at the Stanbic IBTC Home Ownership Summit on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 with the theme, Building Wealth through Home Ownership.
Represented by the permanent secretary of the Ministry Engr Abdulhafiz Toriola, Akinderu-Fatai, highlighted the increasing demand for housing in Lagos State, as well as the business opportunities available in the housing sector.
He said, “In Lagos, the demand for housing is ever-increasing, and the importance of facilitating home ownership cannot be overemphasized, considering the 2.3 million housing gap that requires strategic attention from governments across board and stakeholders across the value chain.”
He noted that there are over 10,000 flats across the 39 state-owned estates, adding that, “In bridging this gap, the state government via direct intervention has delivered 39 estates across the state, amounting to 10,060 flats, with ongoing projects adding approximately 1,938 more flats.”
“Lagos State has launched multiple affordable housing schemes to cater to people with different incomes, we have the low, medium, and high. The Ministry of Housing takes care of the low and medium, while the LSDPC takes care of the high.”
“The program aims to provide housing at subsidized rates and enables more Lagosians to enter the property market. It includes the allocation of 40% rebate for civil servants. There is the open balloting for private workers where people apply online.”
Also speaking, the Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr. Wole Adeniyi, emphasized the importance of home ownership as a fundamental pillar of financial stability and wealth creation.
One of the panelists during the summit, Prince Adeniyi Aromolaran, an Executive Director with the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC), identified home ownership as a staff retention strategy.
He noted, “I have proposed this as a staff retention strategy. To hold a staff for five years is now very tough, but if a company were to acquire a property and say, we want to build for our staff at this level.”
“The land belongs to the organization, but we give the apartments to individuals. If you work with us for five years, we tell you from the get-go, an amount is set every year, so that by your fifth year, when you celebrate long service award, we give you a certain amount towards house ownership.”
Alleluia is the Assistant Editor and Content Writer at LagosPost.ng. She is a prolific writer and editor, she has written features and news stories on Lifestyle, Sports, Business, Politics and B2B marketing. She is also an event coordinator, host and social media content creator.
