Fred Itua and Okwe Obi, Abuja

The Federal Government and Real Estates Developers of Nigeria (REDAN), on Tuesday, in Abuja, brainstormed on how to develop affordable houses for Nigerians.

Declaring a workshop for real estate developers, with the theme ‘Enhancing Real Estates Development Through Collaborative Effort open, Minister of State (2) for  Power, Works and Housing, Suleiman Hassan, explained that the Federal Government’s plan to solve the scarcity of houses for Nigerians in the bud, was ongoing.

He stated that with the planned and sustained partnership with the private sector, more houses will be sufficient to meet the needs of the teaming population.

On the part of REDAN, it warned the Federal Government against giving licenses to land speculators, which, according to the professional body, would continue to make houses unavailable and unaffordable to Nigerians.

REDAN also stressed that the only way houses can be available and affordable, considering the increase in population, was for the Federal Government to embark on infrastructural development and create of access roads.

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President of REDAN, Mr. Ugochukwu Chime, pledged that the association would not rest on its oars in ensuring that houses remain available and affordable to Nigerians.

Chime frowned at the high rate of interests collected from members which according to him is a limiting factor.

“REDAN will not rest on her mission to forge a common unity of purpose in the real estate sector,” he vowed.

He added that “after a careful appraisal of the challenges in the real estate environment, REDAN in 2015 set an ambitious agenda of building a strong institution with enhanced succession internally, and a coalition of collaborators with stakeholders. That effort is burgeoning and eventually crystallize to the desired efforts to change the real estate landscape of Nigeria.”

Still speaking on the workshop, Chime, stated that the data that will emerge from the exercise will enable appropriate planning, forecasting to take place and justification for some of the envisaged intervention by government.