We inherited 500,000 housing deficit, says Ogun govt

The Ogun state government says it inherited 500,000 housing deficit from the past administration of former Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

The government said it might not be able to fill all the gap by the end of its tenure. However, it pledged to fill at least 50 per cent before expiration of the administration.

The Commissioner for Housing in the state, Jangumolu Omoniyi, said these this while speaking with journalists in Abeokuta on Friday.

Omoniyi said the government was battling to close the gap it inherited on May 29, 2019 from the preceding administration.

He said as part of moves to close the gap, the government had commenced 2,500 housing projects in various locations in the state.

Omoniyi added that the first phase was completed in May.

He said, “We met on ground a very wide gap of housing deficits in the state, and by our postulation, we have nothing less than 500,000 housing gaps in Ogun State.

“And we know that four years or eight years down the line, we may not be able to fill that gap but we should be sure that at the end of the day, we do nothing less than 50 per cent of that gap.

“It looks as if it’s a tall order but with the market in place, we believe that we can achieve that, not forgetting the fact that Ogun State today is the industrial hub of the nation.”

Omoniyi said the affordability of the state’s housing projects for the subscribers was ‘in line with global best practices’.

According to him, the minimum requirement is payment of 10 per cent and undertaking of affordability test to determine the subscriber’s capacity.

He said, “I know what is obtainable nationally when it comes to affordable houses. The houses that we have, the price of our houses in Ogun State today is within N6.5m and N5.5m.

“Affordability does not mean that the common man will have to cough out N6.5m or N5.5m to build or buy those houses.

“In advanced countries nobody pays more than five or 10 per cent for you to be able to get mortgage and that is what is obtainable in Ogun State today.”

Omoniyi said a funding partner, the Federal Mortgage Bank Family Homes, had shown interest in partnering with the state to offer best single-digit rates and a long tenured mortgages to subscribers