By Yinka kolawole

The Minister of Lands,   Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Nduese Essien, has decried the negligible contribution of the real estate sector to Nigeria’s economic development, which stands at less than one percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Speaking recently at a sensitisation workshop on Estate Development Loan (EDL) procurement and management, in Abuja, Essien noted the huge disparities between Nigeria’s housing sector contribution to GDP and that of other countries of the world.

“The economies of developed countries are solidly grounded in the housing sector where it contributes about 35 percent to 70  percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but unfortunately, we cannot say the same about Nigeria where it contributes less than one per cent to the GDP.  The country is highly blessed with abundant land and land resources but these have not been efficiently managed to translate to economic prosperity unlike what obtains in other countries. We are largely a mono product economy which largely runs only on oil,” he stated.

The minister, who was represented by the Director of Lands, Georgina Ogbuto, called on FMBN to explore other sources of funding besides the National Housing Fund (NHF) scheme, urging that the remaining N100 billion bond raised by FMBN in 2006 be used for secondary mortgage market. “I am aware that the FMBN is still discussing with HSBC and the Debt Management Office about the possibility of getting offshore funds.