By Chris Ochayi

ABUJA — Determined to make housing accommodations affordable to the masses as well as low income earners in the country, the Federal Government has promised to review the mortgage finance system, to enable this group of Nigerians build or buy their own houses.

Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ms. Ama Pepple who disclosed this while inspecting housing projects in Kuje and Gwagwalada Area councils, of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, regretted that many Nigerians cannot afford to purchase houses under the current mortgage regime.

She remarked that with the situation on the ground, coupled with the minimum wage of N18, 000 per month, no civil servant on grade levels 01-06 can afford to pay for a two bedroom or three bedroom apartment. Such houses sell for between N3 million and N4 million.

“We will review the mortgage financing system; we will restructure the system so that low income earners and the average Nigerian can purchase these houses. There should be some kind of mortgage that they can afford to take to purchase the houses,” she said.

Continuing, they minister decried the rising wave of building collapse in the country and blamed the occurrence on the use of substandard materials and lack of adequate supervision of housing construction.

She assured Nigerians that government is determined to curb the ugly trend which has claimed innocent lives and property worth several billions of Naira destroyed.

Mrs Pepple said the Ministry is poised to commence the implementation of the National Building Code, NBC, warning that a situation where unskilled artisans are engaged in building of houses poses serious dangers,

The Minister expressed her dissatisfaction with the materials being used at the Housing Estate for civil servants located at Gwagwalada Area Council and ordered that adequate measures must be taken to correct the defect noticed on the houses under construction.

She was however happy with work done on the Kuje Housing projects, describing the finishing as excellent.