Mr Gbenga Omotosho, Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, has called for more private sector partnership with the state government toward ensuring provision of more qualitative housing for residents.
Omotosho made the call on Monday at the opening ceremony of the Radio Lagos/Eko FM Building Expo 2021 at Agidingbi, Ikeja.
The commissioner, represented by Mr Olusina Thorpe, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, said such effort would help to complement the state government’s efforts in providing low cost housing for its citizens.
“The Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led government is keen in ensuring that Lagosians have access to affordable and qualitative housing in the state.
“But, the government alone cannot provide houses for all Lagosians, and that is why the private sector should join hand with the government in ensuring that we have more housing for our people.
“This can be done in various ways through mortgages and partnership, because most young family can’t afford the huge capital involve to build their own house.
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“We must explore financing that will be very friendly to the citizens and that is why I am imploring the private sector to look into mortgaging so that many people can be captured under the housing project,” Omotosho said.
The commissioner, however, commended the organisers of the Expo for the initiative to promote quality housing material.
He urged residents of the state to take advantage of the Expo to source for qualitative materials for their buildings and engage the various state government agencies for guidance before embarking on building.
Earlier, Mrs Ayoola Shotonwa, General Manager, Radio Lagos/Eko FM said the theme of the exhibition “Sustaining The Lagos THEMES Agenda on Housing was in line the government effort on housing.
Shotonwa said the exhibition would create a level playing ground for Lagosians to have access to quality and affordable choices of land, structure and quality material.
“The organisation is hosting this particular exhibition solely for arbiters and key players in the building sector and other salient factors that will make building a home attractive.
“”Unarguably, quality materials and due diligence will also help forestall building mishaps that intermittently plague pages of our newspapers headlines and bulletin,” she said.
The GM said that the exhibition would help promote locally made building materials and give the public the opportunity to leverage on the numerous opportunities the fair has to offers.
Dr Akintoye Oyelade, a Civil and Environment Engineer who delivered lecture titled “Potential of Non-conventional Materials for Building” said that an holistic approach must be adopted to resolve challenges hindering the sector.
Oyelade of the Department of Civil and Environment Engineering, University of Lagos (UNILAG) said there was the need to tap into the available resources to address the housing deficit in the country.
“Shelter is one of the basic needs of human, hence the need to find a resolute solution to the issue of housing deficit in Nigeria.
“According to the United Nation, Nigeria needs a 85,000 housing units annually to meets it housing deficit.
“This deficits calls for a holistic approach from major players in the sector to tap into available resources for building to reduce the housing deficit in the country,” he said.