The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has promised to support the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) with land, describing land as the state’s own oil.
This is as the state and FHA have promised to collaborate to provide affordable housing for Lagos residents and Nigerians in the diaspora.
Sanwo-Olu made the promise during a courtesy visit by the management of FHA led by its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Hon. Oyetunde Ojo, to his office in Marina.
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The governor charged the federal agency to hit the ground running once it got the approval.
“Land in Lagos is our oil. We will support you but you must be ready to hit the ground running. Let your people work with the Lagos State Commissioner for Housing. The advantage that we have is that the market is here (Lagos). We will challenge you to change the skyline and try to have your footprints in as many parts of the country as possible,” he said.
The governor noted that his administration in the last four and a half years has commissioned 18 different housing estate projects in different parts of the state, aimed at reducing housing deficits in Lagos.
He said: “The Federal Housing Authority is known for opening new areas, new cities and corridors. We can see from your (Hon. Oyetunji Ojo) drive and move in the last couple of weeks that indeed, you want to make a positive impact in your tenure.
“For us in Lagos, we know what the deficits are and are open for collaboration. In the last four and half years that we came into government, we have commissioned about 18 different housing estate projects in various numbers in different parts of the State. The citizens want shelter and we have been very strategic and think out of the box to create housing solutions that would meet the needs of the citizens.
“Your (FHA) vision sits with our objective which is to be able to provide housing needs for various strata of the economy. We can collaborate. There are a lot of needs for Lagosians that we can collaborate on.”
Speaking earlier, Ojo stated that affordable housing for Nigerians is key in the “Renewed Hope Agenda” of President Bola Tinubu.
He said: “We want a synergy between the Federal Housing Authority and the Lagos State Government because when it comes to housing, Lagos State is leading in housing models in West Africa. We want to learn and that is why we need the synergy with the Lagos State Government. President Tinubu must flag-off and commission FHA housing projects in Lagos State.
“We want people abroad to be secured in buying properties so that when they pay by installments with the digitalisation FHA is about to do in collaboration with the Diaspora Commission and Ministry of Tourism and the Lagos State Government, our people abroad will be safe. We want a place where we will partner and people overseas would be very confident about it.”
Lagos with a population estimated to be over 22 million, has a housing deficit rate of about 2.5 million.