Amid economic hardship and inflation that are biting harder in the country, stakeholders have called on the Federal Government to provide subsidy in the housing industry to deplete the current deficit in the country.
The stakeholders, who spoke at the Real Estate Reporters Workshop organised by Leisure Court Estate Limited in Abuja, said the government should subsidise housing schemes to provide accommodation for the citizens and rid cities of slum settlements.
An estate developer, Segun Abolaji, stated that housing deficit has painted a bad image of the country in the comity of the nation, saying, if the sector is highly subsidised, it will reduce vacant homes in Asokoro, Maitama, Wuse and other districts of Abuja.
Abolaji lamented that most of the houses being built by the Federal Government are unaffordable for the masses, adding that only the money bags, politicians and lawmakers will buy them. He said affordable homes will continue to be elusive due to the current inflation that affected land prices, while lamenting that the bureaucratic processes in land allocation are cumbersome.
Also speaking, Dr Austin Maho of International Institute of Journalism, Abuja, called on the media professionals to set an agenda on housing, especially in making mass housing a top priority for the government, and accountability to the people. “We do not have regulation in the sector, but in the United States, they have institutions to cater for affordable housing schemes,” he said.
A communication expert, Law Mefor, called on the media to assist real estate developers to deliver affordable housing for Nigerians. According to him, subsidising housing programmes would promote a good business environment, and make the real estate sector a key driver of the economy.
Contributing, Omoluabi Adeyemi of Africa Media Roundtable Initiative stated that real estate and journalism must go hand in hand to drive change in the society and transition people from being tenants to landlords, saying, this would happen when developers take their rightful place in Nigeria.
On his part, Tope Sunday of BluePrint Newspaper regretted that the country has no accurate data on housing. He, therefore, called on stakeholders and governments at all levels to subsidise the built industry.
Sunday added that housing should be given priority to eliminate homelessness in the country.
