THE Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has expressed worries over the increasing housing deficit in the state, which he said is currently put at 17 million.
Sanwo-Olu shared this concern at the Conference of Directors of Lands in the Federal and State Ministries, Departments and Agencies, held in Lagos.
The event was themed, ‘Improving Land-Based Revenue of the Federating Units in Nigeria through Efficient and Effective Land Administration.’
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Sanwo-Olu, represented by his Special Adviser on Housing, Barakat Odunuga-Bakare, said of Nigeria’s 28 million housing gap, Lagos stood at a 17 million deficit, with an estimated 500,000 people migrating into Lagos annually.
“It is pertinent to address the housing gap in the state with credence to the burning national issues. The growing housing deficit in Nigeria has risen from seven million in 1991 to an estimated 28 million in 2023”, Sanwo-Olu said.
In less than five years, he disclosed that his administration had provided over 3,000 homes for the residents to reduce the state’s 17 million housing deficit, hinting that the housing projects were delivered through direct budgetary allocation and joint venture partnership.
Lagos State, politically divided into 20 local government areas, had about 24.6 million inhabitants in 2015, based on the estimates of the UN-Habitat and international development agencies.
The former special adviser to Sanwo-Olu on Housing, Toke Benson-Awoyinka, had, in an interview, told The ICIR reporter that there were mass housing scheme projects across the state that are under construction through the Ministry of Housing/LagosHOMS, Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC), and Private Sector Participation.
“These homes are for all income groups when completed with some reserved for Rent- to- Own policy of the state government,” she said.
Under this arrangement, individuals are required to pay five per cent of the cost of the housing unit as a commitment fee with 30 per cent of the cost of the choice property.
At the same time, the remainder will be spread throughout 10 years’ minimum tenure and a maximum of 20 years, which has produced over 1,752 family beneficiaries from the Rent-to-Own Policy.
“You must have the intention to live there and not for rental purposes for any individual applying for the first time – on lagoshoms.gov.ng.
“The Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme is Lagos State Government initiative known as LagosHOMS to encourage and support home ownership of a first-time buyer who has a stable source of income to be deducted as installment payment,” Benson-Awoyinka said.
At the Conference, Sanwo-Olu recognised that there is a need for the provision of mass housing schemes by the State Government as well as other supporting public infrastructure.
The governor also hinted that there are ongoing projects in various locations across the state, which include Ibese Phase II, Egan, Sangotedo, Epe, and Badagry, and in other places.
Housing deficit in Lagos is not up to 17 million units, that is about the figure for the whole of Nigeria. In 2022, roughly 15.4 million people lived in Lagos (https://www.statista.com/statistics/1308467/population-of-lagos-nigeria/). How then can Lagos need more houses than its population knowing fully well that this population includes dependents who have to live with others in the same houses and that there are existing houses in Lagos.
The correct figure should lie around 3 Million housing units (deficit). Kindly confirm your data and revise this post. You are ICIR, you should scratch beyond the news surface.