By YINKA KOLAWOLE

Stakeholders in the housing sector have challenged the federal government over its targeted yearly delivery of one million housing units across the country.

It would be recalled that a couple of months ago, President Goodluck Jonathan at a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting directed the Minister for Lands, Housing & Urban Development, Ms. Ama Pepple, to set the machinery in motion that will ensure the provision of one million housing units annually in the country, starting from January 2013.

The mandate came against the backdrop of the huge housing shortfall in the country estimated to be over 16 million, which the president noted requires special intervention for it to bridged.

Industry experts however noted that although meeting the target is a tall order, the projected number of housing units could be achieved with the involvement of the private sector and the provision of an enabling environment.

President of Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Chief Olabode Afolayan, said the mandate is a wonderful idea but was skeptical based on the issue of official bureaucracy that has stalled similar initiatives over the years.

He noted that similar directives in the past have not materialised as a result of the absence of the political will to make it happen, adding that it is one thing to say something, but another to muster the political muscle to turn it into reality.

According to him, the need to build as much as one million housing units annually for the populace cannot be faulted but noted that outlining the modality of actualising the mandate is fundamental.

He asserted that unless the private sector was involved, the whole concept would be akin to mere political propaganda, adding that REDAN is ready to partner with government in making the dream of providing one million housing units every year come true.

On his part, President of Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN), Mr. Segun Ajanlekoko, said though a lofty idea, it is not new. He likened the mandate to the one given by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to provide a similar number of housing units, which was never actualised until his demise.

He declared that the involvement of the private sector is needed to make the dream a reality, adding that the projection could only be realised if government could muster the political will to do so. According to him, if government is willing to provide the basic infrastructure and the enabling environment, the tendency is there for the project to become a reality.

In a similar vein, President of Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Mr. Chucks Omeife, said government needs to take the issue of mass housing beyond mere rhetorics. He said unless the core professionals in the built sector are involved, it would be a futile exercise.

According to him, the right thing to do is to ensure that the professionals in the construction industry were allowed to make major inputs in the scheme. He added that the reason similar projects or concepts in the past failed are not unconnected with the absence of the political will to implement the plans.