Lagos charges developers on abandoned projects
LAGOS State Government has cautioned property developers against abandoning projects subscribed by prospective homeowners.
The state’s Commissioner for Housing, Maruf Akinderu- Fatai, gave the charge at the launch of housing schemes by AIMART International in partnership with the Lagos Building Investment Company Plc ( LBIC) and Federal Mortgage Bank, tagged “Affordable Homes Scheme.”
Akinderu- Fatai, who was represented by the Director, Estates in the ministry, Mrs. Olayinka Patunola- Ajayi, said that due to paucity of funds, the government welcomes efforts by private developers to increase the housing stock and reduce deficit in the country.
He stated that the state government has made concrete efforts to reduce the deficit through previous administrations, adding that the present government inherited over 4,000 uncompleted houses and several of them have been completed.
Akinderu- Fatai explained that what the state government does is to give land to private developers, who bring fund and construct the houses. He stated that the government gives titles to allottees of such projects.
“As you produce the houses, you should be wary of collecting money from subscribers and not investing it into the projects. We have seen it happen several times. Developers collect money and people start chasing them about,” the commissioner said.
He lauded the company on plans to construct houses that will be affordable to the populace, as most developers build houses for profit making. “We want you to bring down the prices, we are researching on ways to make housing affordable to people,” she added.
The Managing Director, AIMART International, Mrs. Bukola Iluyomade, stated that the houses will be built through the use of local building materials and prefabricated technology.
According to her, the vision is beyond profit making, but to give every Nigerian opportunity to own homes and complement both the federal and state government at solving housing problem in the country.
Iluyomade noted that the schemes are targeted at medium- income earners both in the public and private sector and not limited
to only residents in Lagos. “With this scheme, you can actually own a home with as
low as N1 million while the balance is spread over a reasonable amount of time or you can access this scheme through a proper mortgage financing.”
“We are targeting a total housing unit of about 10,000 units across the country starting with three locations ( Ibeju- Lekki, Agbara and Badagry) within a 10- year period. We also intend as a matter of value addition and corporate social responsibility, to further discount a number of units to ensure that we give more persons the opportunity to benefit from this
scheme.
“This is not a social housing scheme but as solution providers in this space, we are driven by a need to render service to humanity, ensuring one of the basics of life which is shelter is made conveniently available to as many as possible.”
Iluyomade said: We intend to create about 10,000 jobs both directly and indirectly over the 10- year period. We hope this novel project will inspire the needed improvement in our housing sector and also help in wealth creation for our people.”