Govt urged to address hike in building materials

Olatunde Oloyede, managing director and chief executive officer of Crystal Properties, has urged the government to tackle the hike in the cost of building materials as a panacea to providing low-cost housing in the building industry across Nigeria.

“Building materials are on the rise in the built industry following the rise in inflation and exchange rate in the economy. This is raising fears among developers that there may even be harsher times ahead.

“The government can formulate and implement policies that can mitigate this in order to offer quality housing service for low-income earners,” Oloyede said while responding to key industry challenges during his recent conferment of honorary doctor of Science in Business Administration from Prowess University, United States of America.

The honour was bestowed on him by Prowess University, Delaware, USA in partnership with the management and advisory board of Leadtimes Africa Magazine at the 6th annual leadership summit held recently at the University of Lagos.

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Oloyede in his acceptance speech commended the governing council of the University for counting him worthy of honour. He stated that the honour will propel him to continue to deliver excellent service to the development of the real estate sector in Nigeria and the growth of the Nigerian economy in general.

“I sincerely thank the governing council of Prowess University for this honorary degree. I will always try my best in whichever way to contribute to the development of real estate in Nigeria,” Oloyede said.

He equally promised to continue to be an advocate of poverty alleviation via the real estate business and will remain committed to providing affordable housing units in Nigeria for economic and human capital development.

The honour was in recognition of his outstanding achievements and contributions to the development of a variety of human endeavours, including business, entrepreneurship, and youth leadership.

Oloyede started his career in the banking sector in 1999 with Chartered Bank now (Stanbic IBTC), before proceeding to Intercontinental Bank now (Access Bank), Oceanic Bank and Eco Bank.

He spent 14 years in the financial industry, and in his quest to mitigate the housing deficit in Nigeria, he established Crystal Properties in 2009.

He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Statistics from the University of Ilorin in 1997 and an MBA (Finance & Marketing) from Obafemi Awolowo University in 2003.