The over-crowded housing market in Lagos, Nigeria’s sprawling city with a housing deficit estimated at three million units, will be depleted significantly as 264 families will be leaving the market in the days and months to come.
This follows the inauguration of two estate with a combined delivery of 264 housing units in the Lekki axis by the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, as part of activities marking his first one-year in office, promising that his administration would build more affordable and accessible houses.
Housing industry experts estimate that at an average of six persons per family, these estates which the state’s commissioner for housing described as “successful public-private collaboration” will be providing homes for over 1,500 persons in the state.
“Our government is positioned to bring about even development to every part of the State, with a view to making Lagos a 21st Century economy,” Sanwo-Olu who commissioned two different estates in the Ikate Elegushi and Lekki areas of the state, assured.
He explained that the project was a manifestation of his administration’s much-expressed need for public-private partnerships, saying that such partnerships would be encouraged in all sectors of governance to bring rapid growth and mutual benefits to all parties.
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“We need to continue to genuinely think through affordable housing, and that is our commitment to our people, because it’s not everybody that will have the ability to pay for housing estates such as this. Therefore, we must give them opportunities for installment payment, so as to make it affordable and accessible for them.
“I inherited this amongst several other projects and the critical challenge we had to contend with was lack of funds. To surmount this challenge, we had to look towards the private sector and adopted the public-private partnership (PPP) model. It was there that we were able to mobilize the needed funds and put life back to the construction site,” the governor said.
The Lekki Apartment, according to him, was another manifestation of the possibilities attainable when the public and private sectors come together to pursue a mutually beneficial goal, pointing out that such cooperation remained a veritable means of meeting the shortfall in the supply of public utilities and social infrastructure.
The governor urge the new allottees of the estate to put the facilities to proper use and conform to laid down rules for appreciation of value. He commended the state’s Ministry of Housing, Lagos State Development Property Corporation (LSDPC) and the private developers for making the project a success in one year of his administration.
Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, the commissioner for housing, commended the foresight and confidence of the governor on the success of the project, noting that he left no one in doubt in his commitment to providing affordable houses for Lagosians.
He said the project which, started six years ago, witnessed some delay during the past administration, but got an immediate boost from Sanwo-Olu who provided all that was needed to make today’s commissioning a reality immediately he assumed office.
Akinderu-Fatai expressed optimism that the current administration in the state would ensure that housing need becomes a success story.
“When Sanwo-Olu resumed as MD/ CEO of LSDPC in 2016, he immediately set out, putting into motion the financial engineering and design modification required to complete this estate. Today’s event is actually to the credit of the governor who ensured that all the hurdles to the completion were surmounted.
“We thank him for not only the initiative of completing this Estate but also for the entire transformation of Lagos State. Certainly, as we work together, the vision of the Greater Lagos as envisaged in the T. H. E. M. E. S. Agenda will be effectively achieved”, he said.
The two estates known as Courtland Luxury Villas and Ikate Elegushi Lekki Apartments provide a total of 264 units of flats from one bedroom to four bedrooms for upper and middle income earners working around Lekki and Victoria Island of Lagos.
