Deputy Gov. Obafemi Hamzat of Lagos State on Tuesday said only effective mortgage system will be a sustainable solution to housing deficit in Nigeria.
Hamzat said this when management teams of Echostone Development Nig. Ltd. and IFC Edge paid him a courtesy visit at his Alausa, Ikeja office.
Echostone Development is a real estate development company that provides an innovative housing system to address large scale housing shortages.
IFC Edge is a member of the World Bank group that provides technical advisory to its investment clients, and advisory for the building sector.
Hazmat said at the visit that there were no low-cost housings.
According to him, costs of building materials are high.
The deputy governor said that mortgage would allow people to own homes and still be able to cater for other necessities.
Hamzat said that the affordable thing to do would be for the people to pay over a long period, such as 15 years to 20 years, in order to own homes.
“What is sustainable for us as government is to allow people to pay over time in order to own their buildings.
“This way both high and low income earners will be able to own their homes and do other things such as children education and attending to their health.
The deputy governor urged stakeholders to come together and work toward it.
Earlier, the Managing Director of Echostone, Mr Sammy Adigun, said that the company was ready to partner with the state government in addressing its housing challenges.
Adigun appealed for grants and subsidy on infrastructure to be able to reduce costs on buildings, thereby making them affordable for the populace, especially low income earners.
“We want to support the government in eradicating poverty and addressing housing deficit in Lagos,” he said.
The managing director said that the company was ready to give free training to all teams in building and construction in Lagos. (NAN)