Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said the Federal Government will partner with genuine investors in the housing sector to bridge the country’s housing deficit.
Osinbajo made the pledge in Abuja on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of a Housing Summit with the theme: “Addressing Housing Stock Deficit in Nigeria: A Holistic View.”
The summit was organised by the Housing Circuit Magazine in collaboration with the Senate Committee on Land, Housing and Urban Development.
The vice president, represented by Mr. Suleiman Hassan, the Minister of State, Power, Works and Housing assured Nigerians that the government would continue to provide enabling environment for investment in the housing sector.
He said that the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing was leading the drive on land and housing reform to ensure easy access to land for housing.
According to him, the ministry has produced the revised and updated National Housing and Urban Development Policies as well as the National Building Code.
He said the National Housing Programme of the Federal Government through the construction of houses across the country was a commitment to make significant and lasting changes in the sector.
Osinbajo said the adoption of the National Housing Policy for sustainable housing delivery and the Housing Development Programme facilitated under the public private partnership were other interventions of the Federal Government.
In his remark, Senator Barnabas Gemade, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Housing said the theme of the summit was appropriate in view of the increased mass housing programme of the Federal Government.
He said the upward review from N35 billion in 2016 to N40 billion in the 2017 budget was a clear demonstration of the Federal Government commitment to tackle housing challenges in the country.
He pledged the commitment of his committee to fast track the reform and commercialization of the Federal Housing Authority through legislative process.
Gemade said the delay in the release of budget resulting to frustration of work because of lack of funds and clear mortgage system were the major challenges facing the nation’s housing sector.
“In addressing some of these challenges, we must take a critical look at the mortgage system.
“We must also seek ways of how funds can be freed from certain sectors of the economy with much capital that can be deployed to the housing sector,” he said.
