Lagos govt adopts measures against skyrocketing cost of building materials

It said such would enhance its desire for affordable housing delivery.

The Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, during a facility tour of three estates under construction in Eti-Osa Local Government of the state, decried the slow pace of construction due to price fluctuations.

Akinderu-Fatai said issues of the price fluctuations due to forex and the rising cost of building materials would be resolved at the meeting with the contractors and the governor.

The commissioner, accompanied by Abdulhafiz Toriola, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Housing, and Special Adviser on Housing, Barakat Odunuga-Bakare, visited Sheridan, Sangotedo and Abraham Adesanya estates.

Akinderu-Fatai said only 3,500 housing units had been delivered out of the government’s 7,000 planned targets, hence the tour towards resolving all challenges slowing down construction works.

He listed challenges slowing down the pace of work on the sites including infrastructure like roads, a higher rate of foreign exchange for building materials and manpower.

He gave the assurance that work would continue earnestly in all estates very soon and more would be added to meet up the thousands of units promised by the governor for Lagos residents at affordable prices.

He promised that by May 2024, during Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s first-year anniversary in his second term, several more schemes would be inaugurated.

He said high-quality standards were being upheld to avoid mistakes of the past where some buildings constructed before Sanwo-Olu’s administration were sinking and had to be rebuilt, citing Abraham Adesanya Estate as an example.

He said a meeting had been scheduled with the various contractors to allow price variation for serious contractors and to terminate the contracts of the unserious ones that were not committed to meeting construction timelines.

“We have housing units that we specifically target to the low-income earners and Mr Governor, if you recall, has always made sure that we bring down those prices.

“There are certain housing units that are for commercial purposes. Ministry of Housing deliberately, under the directive of Mr Governor, concentrate on low-income earners,” he said.

He said the housing schemes were not targeted at profit but to deliver affordable mass housing, adding that measures were in place to prevent middlemen from hijacking opportunities for residents.

He said after three months, beneficiaries of the Rent-to-Own schemes who did not occupy the houses would have their monies refused and the houses given to those ready to occupy them.

Barakat Odunuga-Bakare, Special Adviser to the Governor on Housing, spoke on regulating private estate providers through the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA).

She advised residents to approach LASRERA on all transaction issues to avoid being duped, promising to pursue the establishment of district offices in all the local governments, to make it easier for residents to make enquiries and seek redress against infractions.

Toriola assured residents of the reliability of the schemes, adding that prospective homeowners should key into it by applying for houses through the ministry.