Babatunde Raji Fasola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing
Intervention
By Ella Anokam
Abuja, May 2, 2018 (NAN) Dr Joshua Egbagbe, a value chain housing expert, has urged the Federal Government to channel intervention funds to the housing sector to promote the construction of affordable houses.
Egbagbe, who is also the Chairman, Value Chain Project Consultants Ltd, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said that the intervention would boost national economic growth in the sector through a multiplier effect.
Cue in audio (Egbabe)
“If the government can talk about intervention fund of between six to nine per cent for other industries that may not even have the kind of multiplier effect housing sector has, why not housing?
“That’s why we are pushing for this emergency; housing revolution and off-takers’ affordability paradigm shift, these are the three pillars.
“With the off-takers affordability data, CBN and Federal Government will know that it is a viable co ncept.
“Right now Federal Government has a lot of non-performing loans given out to different industries, not only non-performing loans, but some of the loans approved have not been disbursed because people do not have capacity to rise to it.
“But in housing, with this affordability paradigm shift we can create a complete strategy that shows if you can create even N1trillion intervention fund and if you are using N4 million as average price, that can build 250,000 houses.
“But it must be scientifically backed by affordability data of the off-takers.
“Government can now give intervention fund targeted to already pre-qualified and evaluated civil servants; it is now possible to have an exit for the intervention fund.
“In this case, civil servants will only be given loans which their pockets can carry and we can have a very safe intervention fund.’’
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Egbabe maintained that since the Federal Government through the CBN had given intervention funds to other sectors, the same gesture should be extended to housing.
“They are giving it to agriculture and industries, so all industries that are linked with housing under the emergency and housing revolution should be given incentives.
“ Let us have a level playing ground so that housing can now thrive that can quickly reduce the deficit,’’ he said.
According to him, in 2017 his company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Association of Housing Cooperation of Nigeria to create N500 billion housing intervention fund.
He said the cooperation was ongoing while concerted efforts are being made towards achieving the purpose of the memorandum. (NAN)
ELLA/DOR/YEE
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Edited by Nyisom Dore/Emmanuel Yashim