Nigeria’s housing finance system needs overhaul, says developer

Nigeria’s mortgage financing system needs to be overhauled to make it easier for Nigerians to own their homes, a property developer and the Managing Director, Opinior Engineering Company Limited, Mr. Muftau Salawu has said.  Mr. Salawu made the call in Abuja during the handing over of keys of two and three bedroom apartments built by […]

Nigeria’s mortgage financing system needs to be overhauled to make it easier for Nigerians to own their homes, a property developer and the Managing Director, Opinior Engineering Company Limited, Mr. Muftau Salawu has said. 

Mr. Salawu made the call in Abuja during the handing over of keys of two and three bedroom apartments built by the company to officials of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps. 

He called on the Federal Government to completely overhaul Nigeria’s mortgage system to help drive demand for houses built under the Public Private Partnership arrangement.

He explained that under the PPP housing arrangement, the Federal Government provides the land, while developers from the private sector source for the fund for the construction of the estate.

Salawu pointed out that except this is done, the objective of the government to reduce the housing deficit in the country may be defeated.

He said with the country having about 20 million units of housing deficits, there was need for government to urgently address some of the financing constraints to the housing sector

The 300 units Open Freedom Estate, according to him, was built to decongest the city centre thereby opening up economic activities at the satellite towns.