Challenge of housing deficit in Lagos is real, Sanwo-olu admits

The Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo Olu, has said that the challenge housing deficit in the state is not a figment of the imagination after all, but a stark reality that is visibly on ground.

Read Also: Lagos shrinks housing deficit as Sanwo-olu inaugurates 492-unit estate

Lagos with an estimated population of 20 million, has a housing deficit that a report on The State of the Lagos Housing Market compiled by Pison Housing Company estimates at 3 million units.

This deficit, which the report says is both quantitative and qualitative, is reason for the high number of renters in the state. “About 80 percent of Lagos residents lives in rented accommodation, spending over 50 percent of their income on house rent payment,” Roland Igbinoba, President/CEO  of Pison Housing Company, noted in the report.

Besides other approaches to the challenges posed by this deficit, the governor noted that there was a compelling need for the state government to develop and adopt a housing delivery initiative that takes into account the population of the state.

“We should adopt a global housing policy that will tie the needs of home seekers to their income. There should be a financing system that is consistent and reasonable. This policy should be one that will favour a larger number of our people,” the governor assured.

Lagos has numerous housing development projects at various stages of completion in different parts of the state. It is expected that when completed, over 20,000 families would be taken off the housing market. At an average of six persons per family, about 120,000 persons will have roofs over their heads.

The governor, who spoke at a recent estate inauguration event, said it was the desire of his administration to ensure that every single family with an income below a certain level, provided they met basic programme requirements, benefitted from the mass housing projects in the state.

Part of the vision of the Sanwo-olu administration in the state is to build a 21st Century economy and the governor reasons that there is need for government to address the issue of housing in the state which is why, he disclosed, there is significant investments in housing projects in the state.

Over the years, Lagos has been scurrying private sector involvement in the provision of housing and infrastructure in the state through public private partnership (PPP) arrangement.

Consistent with that, the governor is assuring interested private sector operators that the state government has started implementing policies that will make the environment more conducive for private sector participation and joint venture investments in the provision of mass housing, especially in urban areas where housing deficit is quite acute.

“We hereby invite interested investors to come forward to collaborate with government in this regard”, he stressed.

CBN urges fintechs, payment service providers to stick to standards.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has urged financial technology companies, payment service providers and Deposit Money Banks engaged in offering payment solutions to customers to ensure they adhere to policy framework and standards that guide their respective operations in the ecosystem in which they operate.

The Deputy Director, Payments System Policy and Oversight, Central Bank of Nigeria, Musa Itopa Jimoh, stated this in Lagos in the week during the corporate launch of Xpress Payment Solutions Limited.

He explained that the CBN was trying to build an ecosystem that allows everyone to have equal opportunity to present and run his own system, adding that fintech was introduced into the payment system with the aim of deepening financial inclusion in Nigeria.

The event was witnessed by representatives of some state governments, Deposit Money Banks, fintech organisations, e-payment industries who commented on the quality and reliable services provided by Xpress Solutions.

The deputy director represented the Director, Payment Systems Management Department, CBN, Samuel Okojere, who said the CBN made a commitment in 2011 to bring those that were outside the banking sector closer, hence the introduction of fintech companies into payment space.

Okojere said, “What does CBN expect from the operators in the financial payment services? Number one is compliance with set standards. This is the only thing that can make you integrate to global best practices. If you are not complying with regulation, you cannot connect with the local one. There are rules that guide this service that we provide in Nigeria and also in the world,” he said.

“It is our joy today that our cards can go anywhere in the world and is being used. This is because we comply with the best practices, and I’m happy to hear that Xpress Payments has also competed in certification on PCIDSS.