Infrastructure, foreclosure law top investors’ roadmap for Buhari

Housing sector operatives have set agenda for Nigeria’s President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, urging him to tackle problems of decayed infrastructure, limited impact of the Land Use Act, dysfunctional mortgage system, among others, they said have constituted as challenges to delivery of affordable housing to Nigerians.

President Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) will hand over to Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on May 29 after the latter defeated him in the March 28 presidential election.

The housing operatives also said that entrenchment of foreclosure laws for smooth mortgage operation that would enable mortgage operators recover their loans in the event of default is necessary if the APC’s housing programme
that promises one million housing units yearly for all Nigerians is to be realised.

In what appears as a roadmap to the president-elect, the investors say these and more constitute as obstacles and challenges that make it difficult, and impossible in some cases, for them to perform optimally to reduce the burgeoning housing deficit.

They argue that housing sector, anywhere in the world, is driven by efficient infrastructure, especially roads which are supremely important for accelerating housing delivery and in this country vast developable land remain virtually inaccessible due to acute deficit in road infrastructure.

“The incoming government must prioritise infrastructure development and this must include massive construction of road network to be followed by a well articulated transport system to open up the country, especially the hinterlands, for housing development”, says Femi Akintunde, the CEO of Alpha Mead Facilities Management and Services Company (AMFacilities).

Akintunde cautions that the government should not, on its own, go into housing development, but should rather provide the enabling environment for private sector investors/development to come in and deliver housing for the citizens at reduced cost, stressing “that it is the best practice globally”.

“The incoming administration must avoid the temptation of getting into housing construction in its zeal to accelerate housing delivery”, added Adetokunbo Ajayi, chairman/CEO, Propertygate Development and Investment Plc, explaining that “it will lead to regression and breed corruption”.

While recognising the huge expectations of the Nigerian people in the area of housing, the government must admit to itself that it cannot solve housing problem overnight, Ajayi warned, advising that the government must come up with its vision for housing to be accompanied by clearly articulated and measurable goals.

The out-going administration of President Jonathan tried to open up the housing sector with a good number of initiatives including land survey that was aimed to free locked up Federal Government land for affordable housing development.

The administration also came up with training-the-trainer programme that was aimed to train artisans and skilled manpower for the housing sector to stem the tide of capital flight in that sector as most of the artisans come from neighbouring countries, notably Ghana and Togo.

The Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) is another effort by the administration to bring down cost of housing finance by providing single digit interest rate on mortgage loans.

Advising the incoming government to leverage this effort for its housing programme, Rose Okwechime, the MD/CEO of Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc, pointed out, however, that increasing access to mortgage finance was not enough, stressing that an effective foreclosure law must be put in place to enable mortgage operators recover their loans in the event of default.