4th March, 2014
Kazeem Ugbodaga
At least 98 new home owners have emerged in Lagos under the Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme, HOMS, after draw was conducted for the successful applicants who vied for the homes.
Some of the winners are Mrs Bibian Kanayo Aloba, Safurat Owoyemi, Jubril Ajayi, Gbenga Owolabi, Ganiyat Dolapo Akanni, Daniel Ikpe, Anthony Olawale and Aderenle Ayola Johnson.
Two hundred homes were put up for the draw but only 98 applicants were successful though only 30 of them got homes.
Out of the 322 applicants received by the Lagos Mortgage Board, LMB, 98 of them were successful while 77 others could not submit their applications before the deadline, as the remaining were disqualified.
Speaking at the occasion held at the Lagos Television ground, Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, Governor Babatunde Fashola said the government promised 200 houses to new owners every month and that this month, the 200 houses were up for grabs.
The governor said the 98 qualified applicants would become new home owners as there were still 102 homes in excess for this month, adding that the 102 homes would be added to the 200 homes for next month, making a total of 302 houses for April draw.
He appealed to beneficiaries to ensure that they pay up their monthly mortgage so that money would be available to build more housing units.
According to Fashola, if all mortgage owners paid their dues promptly, in the next seven years, the scheme would be self-sustaining and that government would not need to commit money to the scheme.
The governor charged the beneficiaries to ensure they pay up their maintenance charges so that the houses would not be like that of Jakande estates that the people failed to maintain.
He disclosed that the second phase of the HOMS project would soon commence and that it would involve private sector participants.
Fashola said under the second phase, the private sector would be allowed to build houses for the scheme with government buying the houses from them and handing them over to the LMB to be channelled through the mortgage scheme.