By CALEB AYANSINA, Abuja

The slow pace of housing development in Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, is the handiwork of past and present Ministers of the Federal Capital Territory and some unscrupulous politicians. This was the view of  the Group Managing Director, Century 21 Real Estate Group, Mr. Felix Modebe

Mr. Modebe described the recent move by the Minister of FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed to revoke the allocation of plots of land yet to be developed by the allottees as a mere threat that holds no water. Modebe who spoke to Vanguard Homes & Property gave reasons why he described the threat as empty.

According to him, the land were allocated by the minister to his friends and cronies who have put them into the market at cut-throat prices.

“He( Minister) signed 200 allocation papers to his friends and others in his companies’ name. Most of them are still in the market, because they (allottees) are asking for a lot of money – N500m, N300m. May be they will pick very few who are not playing the ‘good boy’ with them and revoke their plots, otherwise, it would be  hard,” he affirmed.

Modebe said housing for all in Nigeria will remain a mirage as long as politicians continue to indirectly sell the land to estate developers.

He regretted that those in charge of land allocation always appropriated the land to themselves and their cronies who will later turn them into market.

His words: “The politicians are selling the land that should be given to developers to build affordable homes. We have about 4 -5 projects here in Abuja, we did not get any of the land free;  you are either paying one Minister or one politician or one land speculator”.

”For example, if you buy 10 hectares land for N200 million, it will give you 100 homes. This means that  before you start,  the cost of land is already N2m per plot. Where is affordability?, he queried.