Habitat Day: Lagos plans to deliver 20,000 housing units in 3 years

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

As part of the efforts to tackle the problem of accommodation in an emerging megacity and make affordable housing available to the residents, the Lagos State Government has disclosed that it is working hard to deliver 20 000 affordable housing units in the first three years of the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode led administration.

Towards achieving this feat, the state government stated that it has embarked on massive urban renewal and slum upgrading / regeneration work across the state in partnership with some private developers and relevant stakeholders in the built industry so as to close the housing deficit gap and improve residents’ access to affordable housing.

Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode who disclosed this in Alausa, Ikeja on Monday at the 2017 World Habitat Day celebration said his administration was poised to provide enabling environment for investment in the housing sector in line with the vision of providing decent and affordable housing for all the residents irrespective of their tribes or background.

Ambode who expressed happiness that the state government has been able to deliver a total of 4, 355 housing units across the three Senatorial Districts of the state under the popular Rent-to-Own scheme, stated that the on-going redevelopment work at Adeniji Adele Phase 1-V comprising of 720 units into a residential mixed development that would produce between 2500 and 3500 housing units was part of the efforts to ease accommodation problem of the residents.

According to the governor, the redevelopment of Isale Gangan Phase 1, leading to the construction of 11 floor structures with 48 serviced luxury apartments and the second Phase of the projects which according to him would yield a 13-floor apartment structure was also aimed at easing the problem of accommodation in the state.

While describing the theme for the celebration: “Housing policies, Affordable Homes” as relevant and apt, the governor noted that it was a clarion call by the United Nations on governments around the world to provide housing within the reach of the common man, stressing that since shelter was a basic necessity of life, governments should explore innovative ways by which this could be achieved through a public private- partnership approach.

Ambode, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Oluranti Adebule, while reaffirming the commitment of his administration to housing units that would be cheaply affordable to the common man, said “our promise to make live more comfortable to our people was made, keeping in mind, the need to provide decent and affordable housing for all.

“We have demonstrated our commitments in this regards through Rent to Own and Rental Housing initiative which is specifically designed with the low income and middle income earners in mind. Apart from reducing the initial deposit requirement from 30% to 5%, the larger proportion of 80% of the total stock of housing units under this programme is dedicated to the Rent to Own Scheme which is targeted at the low income group.”

Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Anifowoshe Wasiu stated that right from the inception, the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode led administration had paid special attention to the issue of environment, physical planning and housing because they were critical to improvement, preservation and better living condition of the people.

He noted that the state government had embarked on a lot of reforms that had helped to bring a lot of improvements to the sector, urging people to abide by the government guidelines before construction to avoid danger.

In his lecture, Mr Fola Arthur-Worrey, a former Commissioner for Lands in Lagos State, identified policy inconsistency and restructuring as well as lack of true and binding national affordable housing scheme, as factors hindering the provision of affordable housing in the country.

Arthur-Worrey urged governments to consider trends and disparities in income and wealth in policy formulation to address the challenges of affordable housing.

”Governments should put in place rent control legislation and control to curb landlord’s excesses and protect the rights of tenants. Governments should also improve economic output and income for people to be able to cater for their housing challenges,” he said.

Mr Rowland Kayalga, Director, United Nations Information Centre, Lagos, commended the state government for its efforts in ensuring an inclusive, safe, resilient, sustainable, affordable and accessible housing for residents.

”Of all the states in Nigeria, only Lagos state commemorates World Habitat Day and I’m calling on other states to emulate Lagos state so as to bring to the front burner the housing challenges in the nation.

”Your greener and cleaner Lagos initiative, improved urban planning and slum upgrade are in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This is commendable, ” he said.