Yinka Kolawole

Housing corporations in Nigeria, under the aegis of Association of Housing Corporations of Nigeria (AHCN), have called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to set aside N500 billion as housing intervention fund to aid massive construction of houses in the country.

AHCN Chairman, Dr. Ifenna Chukwujekwu, made the request at the recently concluded three-day conference of the association in Akure, the Ondo State capital, with the theme: “Exploring Public Private Partnership for Affordable Mass Housing Delivery”.

Chukwujekwu noted that massive construction of houses would stimulate the economy but lamented that government has not channeled the much needed funds into the sector.  He criticised the investment of the over N2 trillion pension fund money in equities, government bonds and bank deposits with no provision for housing investment.

“Finance is the critical factor both for housing production and for end_user purchase. And to ensure adequate and cost efficient flow of funds into the important sector, CBN should release N500billion as lifeline for massive housing construction in order to stimulate the economy,” he said.

The AHCN chairman called for a revisit of a report of the committee on the Niger Delta Housing Programme for possible implementation. “I call for the report of the committee on affordable housing in Nigeria to be revisited for implementation. The current National Housing Policy should also be revisited and necessary corrections, amendments and provisions enacted to make it more authentic, functional and acceptable to all.

“Adolf Hitler used massive housing construction to re_engineer the national economy of post war Nazi Germany. Critical attention and massive investment in housing and its concomitant infrastructures would surely kick_start a rebirth of our national economy and usher in an era of sustainable employment peace and prosperity for our nation.

“In line with global best practices in public governance, the PPP scheme is becoming increasingly embraced as an answer to dwindling resources and red tapism associated with public sector. Therefore, the technical expertise and managerial dexterity of the private sector cannot but be harnessed by the government for housing and infrastructures,” he stated.

In his address at the occasion, Chairman of Ondo State Development and Property Corporation (OSDPC), Chief Bamidele Awosika, noted that the huge financial resources required for housing development, and the dwindling fortune at the disposal of government, has made the need for collaboration between the government and the private sector absolutely necessary to solve the enormous housing needs of the country.Awosika further noted that the huge potentials that the housing sector portends for the economy has remained largely unexplored, which