The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Housing scheme

  • Allottees lament misadventure in housing scheme

    Allottees lament misadventure in housing scheme

    In real estate Water Fronts are usually the toast of the rich and so when in 2010 the Lagos State Government advertised its Oko-Orisan Waterfront Residential Land Scheme, many Diasporans, the wealthy and elites bought into it.

    Many were said to have been excited, not only because they wanted a home in Lagos, but also the safety of dealing with the government directly to safe guard their investment by avoiding middle men and dubious Developers they are currently hunted by nightmares as their faith in the State Government has been shaken except something is done urgently.

    Subscribers to the Oko-Orisan waterfront scheme are feeling victims of what they now realise as an imperfect land administration system in Lagos State. They have become distraught from the frustration brought on them by the government (LASG) which they didn’t expect.

    In view of their disappointment and frustrations, in the hands of the Lagos State government officials, a number of those that had invested in the land purchase scheme including Mr. Hakeem Ibrahim have recently formed a group (Oko-Orisan Waterfront Scheme Subscribers Group), for the purpose of engaging with the state government.

    Read Also: Groups protest in Abuja, Lagos, Osun over hunger

    In an interview with The Nation Ibrahim said: “In 2012, I purchased a piece of land in the Lagos State Government Oko-Orisan Waterfront Scheme in the Lekki area of Lagos State while others bought into the scheme as far back as 2010. The fee I paid for the plot was N3.8 million only, though I was receipted for only N3.3 million, out of the amount I paid. We were all issued original copies of allocation letters and official receipts from the Lands Bureau of the office of the Governor. My personal allocation letter was dated May 12, 2012. As a result of the delay we severally visited the appropriate offices of the government to inquire on the progress and were on each visit assured that our documentations are genuine and valid.

     “The challenge today, is since our consummation of the contract with the Lagos government, we are yet to be physically allotted our plots in the scheme. The official reason the government officials have given for this is that since around 2013, the scheme had been suspended to allow for redesigning. But we learnt from an unofficial quarters that there are attempts by government to abandon the scheme and re-allocate the plots to wealthy and influential members in the society while moving the initial allottees to yet to be determined obscure location.”

    On what else the Group has done to recover their land, Ibrahim responded that they have expressed their disaffection in writing to the Office of the Special Adviser on Housing, who minuted it to the Bureau’s Legal Department who advised them to see the Executive Secretary, Lands and/or Permanent Secretary, Lands to convey their dissatisfaction in person.

    He also added that the hope of the group was further  diminished when in response to the inquiry about their plots of land, the Lands Bureau informed them that the Orisan scheme was being redesigned and re-modelled, promising  to inform the allottees of the outcome when completed, without as much as suggesting a timeline for when that would happen.

  • One million housing scheme coming

    A religious organisation, Givers Embassy, said it has concluded arrangements to provide one million affordable houses for Nigerians every year.

    The church, which is the first no-tithe, no-offering church in Nigeria, unveiled the housing plan to journalists, explaining that the initiative was not just “an appeal to build affordable houses for our people, it is a call to move our economy and country forward”.

    The General Overseer of Givers Embassy Church, Edward Olutoke, who unveiled the slogan for the initiative: “Operation don’t die a tenant”, said the mass housing scheme was being supported by different organisations namely; Association of Nigerian Tenants, Initiative for Affordable and Comfortable Housing, and Gioni Homes.

    Others are Skynet Golden Investments Limited, Chaste Mutual Investments Limited, Intercontinental Group and Intercontinental Engineering and Homes Development Limited.

    Speaking at a press conference in Abuja to kickstart the initiative, Olutoke noted that in the mass housing scheme, subscribers are expected to make a down payment of 10 percent of the cost of their choice house which are highly subsidised far below the market price.

    He said once you pay up to 50 percent of the total cost of your preferred house, the church will give you the key to your house precisely a year after and you pay up the remaining balance in 5 years, adding that a three-bedroom flat in Abuja will not cost more than N10 million and that is how it will be across the country.

    The General Overseer said, “We invite churches, mosques and other religious bodies to join us in this campaign by using some of their idle funds in the banks to build affordable houses for their members.

    “This is not just an appeal to build affordable houses for our people but a call to move our economy and country forward and the housing sector has enormous earning potentials with huge multiplier effect.

    “Let us bring back jobs for our young graduate, town planners, architects, land surveyors, engineers and other support services that will keep them away from crime and busy with jobs.”

    According to him Nigerians are no longer willing to continue to wait endlessly for government to come clean on its promises to provide affordable mass housing for our teeming population, noting that many Nigerians had contributed to the National housing fund and died without collecting keys to the promised houses due to government’s failure.

    He urged well-meaning Nigerians, relevant international governmental organisations, private sectors, professional bodies, civil societies and the media to join them in this onerous effort to kick the monster of homelessness out of our country, stressing that the strategy would also bring back direct and indirect jobs to young Nigerians as town planners, architects, land surveyors, engineers and other support services.

     

  • LagosHOMS delivers 54 homes in Oko-oba housing scheme

    The Lagos State Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (LagosHOMS) has again provided 54 residents of the state with houses under its scheme.

    The General Manager, Lagos State Mortgage Board, Dehinde Tunwashe, said that the Oko-oba scheme, which was inaugurated recently, has large sized two and three-bedroom apartments in a gated community, adding that giving them out was a way of alleviating the housing problems being faced by Lagosians and also meeting up their  demand for decent and affordable housing.

    He stressed that the Oko Oba scheme which is about 15 minutes’ drive from Ikeja, the state capital, boasts of state-of-the-art facilities like street lights, water treatment plant, community hall, external gas cylinder cage, laundromat, security post, adequate parking space, electricity pre-paid meters, estate management office and utility generator.

    Tunwase assured that the state government would not relent in its efforts at reducing housing deficit in the state while it would continue to give housing a priority. He said that aside the completed Oko-Oba scheme, construction was ongoing at different sites across the state and that, as soon as they were completed, they would be put up for sale to resident.

    He therefore urged the general public to take advantage of the scheme, adding that applications were now open for interested members of the public who are aspiring to own their first home. Applicants, he further said, should visit the scheme’s office or log on to their website: www.lagoshoms.gov.ng.

  • Lagos gets first lease-to-own housing scheme

    Lagos gets first lease-to-own housing scheme

    Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola has inaugurated the first phase of the Co-operative Home Ownership Incentive Scheme (CHOIS) City residential estate in Agbowa-Ikosi . The initiative, which comprises 280 two-bedroom semi-detached bungalows and 180 three-bedroom semi-detached, is  private sector initiative  aimed at addressing the housing deficit in the state.It  also represents government’s first step in its planned lease-to-own scheme.

    Fashola said the project, a partnership between state government and First World Communities expected to provide 10,000 homes, will complement government’s effort in community development under the CHOIS. The ability to become a landlord in this initiative will be tied to the occupant’s income. According to Fashola, there are many people in the society who need a home and can get loan from their employers. He however said such people have been hampered because there are no houses to buy, while some, he noted, also need the support of government to become landlord. “This is what the Lagos State Mortgage Homes and CHOIS City are meant to address. This is our first establishment of lease-to-own that involves gradual payment in which after 15 years, one will become the owner,” Fashola explained.

    The private developer of the scheme and President of First World Communities, Brig-Gen Tunde Reis, (rtd), said the first phase of the project, comprising 10,000 homes, would be built across the three senatorial districts of Lagos State, with the core aim of delivering housing for the low and medium income households in sustainable communities through lease-to-own schemes.

    Fashola said: “The pilot project, CHOIS Garden, developed at Abijo Government Reservation Area (GRA) along the Lekki-Epe Expressway is to have over 2,000 homes with over 500 already built and allocated. Agbowa’s target is 4,000 homes, Epe-Ibeju is 1,000 while Badagry axis is to cover 3,000 homes. All in such a way that ability to afford it is tied to one’s income and continued prosperity.”

    Reis said an advantage of this scheme is the ease of payment available to prospective owners. This is because once a prospective buyer pays 10 per cent of the total purchase price for his choice house, he is entitled to take possession of the house. This payment serves as the initial deposit and upon the completion of payment, in the form of rent, the home ownership and title passes on to the buyer.

  • N960b workers’ housing scheme to be launch in January

    The NLC had signed a N960 billion ($6 billion) partnership with the private property developer, Kriston Lally EPC Nigeria Limited, to provide houses for its members in both public and private sectors across the country, at affordable rate, and just at two per cent interest rate, payable over 10 to 15 years,and to be built in December.

    President Goodluck Jonathan will perform the launch and flag-off ceremony for the construction of the houses, meant to provide affordable houses for Nigerian workers in January, 2014, while the congress and its partners have also assured that the President would hand over the houses to subscribers in December 2014.

    The arrangement to kick-start the construction was arrived at when the leadership and some staffers of Nigeria Labour Congress,NLC, led by its President, Comrade Abdulwahed Omar, visited their foreign partners and funder in Athens, Greece.

    Comrade Omar and the Managing Director of Kriston Lally Nigeria, Alhaji Mustapha Madawaki, who spoke with journalists in Abuja, said the team which went to Greece was able to finalise the agreement, how the funds and technical know-how as well as materials would be moved to Nigeria for the commencement of the project.

    Comrade Omar said the trip to Greece was one of the most purposeful and progressive, because the purpose was for the Nigerian workers and how they could get houses of their own at affordable rate.

    He stated that one of their promises to their members, when they came in as leaders on NLC,  was to do as much as possible to ensure that as many workers as possible got shelter before they retired, because housing was one of the very serious problems facing Nigerian workers today.

    Omar said: “The partnership is about providing quality and affordable housing for the Nigerian workers. We have found in this Kriston Lally a very formidable partnership that we can rely on, we can trust and we can work with.”

    He assured those who had paid their 10 per cent that the congress would never get itself in a position where their money would be tampered with, adding that the money would not be part of construction process, but a security to show commitment from the subscribers.

    Describing the housing scheme as a very wonderful initiative, he pointed out that the meeting with the foreign partners and the funder during the trip was successful, adding that the Nigeria Embassy was also involved in the whole process.

    He pointed out that the Nigeria Ambassador to Greece, Mr Ayodeji Ayodele, who also hosted the partners, said the collaboration with the Greek company would bring succour and happiness to the lives of Nigerian workers, saying it was in line with their objective in Greece.

    The Managing Director and Chief Executive of Kriston Lally Nigeria, Alhaji Mustapha Madawaki, described the visit and the meeting as wonderful.

    He said: “By and large, we have totally agreed that the NLC play its role and the funders are very much aware of the need to start releasing funds probably in December. That will enable us mobilise and move to the site.”

    Alhaji Madawaki pointed out that about 5,000 workers had already subscribed for the phase one of the scheme in Abuja before a decision was taken to stop people who were rushing to be part of the project daily.

    Alhaji Madawaki explained that more people were stopped from coming in order not to get subscription beyond the target slated for the first phase.

    But he said that by the time they put together Lagos, Port Harcourt and other states,  the subscription would commence immediately after their trip, adding that the total number of subscribers would  be 100, 000, while the second phase would start in Abuja second quarter of next year.

    He said the types of houses include one-bedroom which were in apartments, two bedroom detached and semi-detached, three bedroom detached and semi-detached in apartments and then four bedroom bungalows, four bedroom duplexes, detached and semi-deached.

  • Nigeria’s housing deficit huge – Sambo

    Nigeria’s housing deficit huge – Sambo

    The Vice President Namadi Sambo on Monday described housing deficit in the country as huge and needed a complete overhaul.

    He asked the supervising Minister of Lands, Housing and Rural Development, Arch.Musa Sada, to initiate a new roadmap for affordable housing and upgrading of slums.

    Sambo disclosed that the Federal Government cannot solely provide adequate resources needed to rapidly transform the sector, adding that there was need for active engagement of all relevant stakeholders.

    He spoke at the National Housing and Slum Summit organized by the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Rural Development in Abuja.

    The vice president said funding the sector required holistic approach as well as effective policies and strategies to address the situation in a comprehensive manner.

    Sambo said, “While the human settlements sector requires a quick turn-around, the resources required to ensure its rapid transformation cannot be solely provided by the government. This explains the paradigm shift in the policy thrust of housing provision in favour of more effective participation of the private sector.

    “The housing deficit remains huge. It will only be gradually reduced over a period of time through the active engagement of key stakeholders.”

    He tasked the ministry in partnership with other stakeholders to develop cities which would be able to satisfy the nation’s housing need.

    Sambo suggested that affordable housing could be provided by creating dynamic policies in the National Housing Policy, National Urban Development Policy, the Revised National Building Code as well as the National Integrated Infrastructural Master Plan.