FG unveils Lagos cooperative scheme to bridge nation’s housing gap
The Federal Government has unveiled an affordable cooperative housing in Lagos State as part of efforts to bridge the nation’s housing gap.
Managing Director, Federal Housing Authority, Sen. Gbenga Ashafa, while speaking at launching the scheme at Lekki, in a statement titled ‘FG unveils first Lagos affordable housing cooperative’ said both formal and informal sectors were included in the ongoing mass housing drive.
Ashafa, who was represented by the Managing Director, FHA Mortgage Bank, Mr Hayatuddeen Awwal, disclosed that the FHA Mortgage Bank operated a single digit interest rate and the FHA was committed to making low interest mortgage available to all Nigerians.
Ashafa pointed out that the design and costing were important components that the FHA took into consideration to deliver right specifications to end users.
According to him, the FHA had a cooperative homes ownership department which had professionals that evolved designs that captured specific needs to make houses affordable to end users, especially in the informal sectors.
Ashafa highlighted that the FHA Mortgage Bank, a subsidiary of the FHA, also accesses the National Housing Funds on behalf of Nigerians, which allows cooperative societies or individuals to access mortgages.
Managing Director, FHA said, “Mortgage can be accessed for a period of up to 30 years and the cap on the mortgage is N15m.
“So, the informal sector is always encouraged. On our database, as I speak now, we have over 15,000 informal sectors duly registered, evaluated and appraised by the bank.”
He applauded the Lagos State Government for its strategies to increase housing stock, stressing that the FHA was rejuvenating FESTAC and trying to reclaim over 1,000 hectares of land to demonstrate how affordable home ownership would be delivered to Nigerians especially those from the informal sector.
He also announced that the FHA was collaborating with the Lagos State Government and other private developers to acquire over 60 hectares along Sagamu Expressway for another affordable mass housing initiative.
He revealed that 18 units were delivered to beneficiaries of FHA housing schemes recently in Lagos, noting that the programmes were ongoing in Ibadan, Gombe, Kano, Kaduna, Owerri, Enugu and other states.
He added that FHA and FHA Mortgage Bank are committed to making sure that houses are affordable to Nigerians both in the formal and informal sector.
The Senior Special Assistant to Lagos State Governor on Housing, Amb. Ayodeji Amodu, said that the state government was making deliberate policies aimed at increasing the housing stock to cater for population upsurge.
