By YINKA KOLAWOLE

The ability of majority of Nigerians to have access to affordable housing can go a long way in reducing the incidence of corruption in the country, especially among public officials.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, made this assertion at a recent Mortgage Finance Roundtable, organised by Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development to address critical areas of housing finance in Nigeria.

She lamented that becauseowning a home which is a fundamental human need has gone unfulfilled for millions of Nigerians, people do all sorts of things to ensure that they have a roof over their head. “Several studies highlight the close correlation between access to decent housing and stability, security and education. I strongly believe that if the majority of Nigerians owned their homes, this would considerably reduce the level of corruption in our country.

“The ability of people to obtain mortgage will also reduce the incident of corruption because most people will have honest ways to actualise their dreams of owning their own homes. A strong mortgage finance system is very crucial to achieving sustainable growth in Nigeria’s housing sector towards ensuring secure and decent housing,” she remarked.

The minister asserted that the housing sector is crucial in the federal government’s transformation agenda due to the recognition of the sector’s great potentials in creating jobs for millions of Nigerians.

In her remarks, Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ms. Ama Pepple, noted that problem of land acquisition, cost of building materials, and the theory of supply and demands are major impediments to providing quality and affordable housing in the country.

She said the housing ministry is liaising with government at all levels to acquire land at reasonable cost for mass housing projects and also with manufacturers like Dangote, among others, to reduce prices of building materials. She added that the ministry is exploring possibilty of embracing alternative technologies to ensure reduction in prices of delivering houses.

Pepple further disclosed that the ministry is currently partnering with 89 private firms to develop mass housing that would ensure that supply exceeds demands, adding “in spite of the growing mortgage market in Nigeria, the mortgage to debt ratio, which is a factor of mortgage penetration is less than 4 percent.

She called for concerted efforts on ways to improve accessibility to mortgage finance in order to stem the present trend whereby most home owners in the country rely on their personal savings to build their homes.