Fred Itua; Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Federal Government and Real Estates Developers of Nigeria (REDAN) recently converged on Abuja to brainstorm on how to develop affordable houses for Nigerians.
Declaring a workshop for real estate developers in Abuja, with the theme, “Enhancing Real Estates Developement 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 problem of scarcity of houses for Nigerians was ongoing.
He stated that with the planned and sustained partnership with the private sector, more houses will be constructed to meet the needs of the teeming population.
On the part of REDAN, it warned the Federal Government against giving licences to land speculators, which, according to the professional body, will continue to make houses unavailable and unaffordable to Nigerians in the country.
REDAN also stressed that the only way houses can be available and affordable, considering the increase in population, is for the government to embark on infrastructural development and the creation of access roads.
The President of REDAN, Mr. Ugochukwu Chime, pledged that the association will 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 its 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 will eventually crystallise to the desired efforts to change the real estate landscape of Nigeria.”