"We believe the government can review the situation of mortgage in Nigeria," Deputy President says

Alhaji Aliyu Oroji Wamakko, the deputy national president of Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), has expressed faith in the Federal Government.

According to him, the government can solve Nigeria's 17 million housing deficit.

However, this can only be done once the mortgage situation is reviewed.

In an interview with the LEADERSHIP, Wamakko said this is necessary as Nigeria's mortgage situation is different from other countries.

"Presently, Nigeria is having a deficit of over 17million housing. The situation here is that the mortgages that are created here in Nigeria always have a different approach from what is obtainable in other countries. For instance, in other countries, you don’t have to give any equity before mortgage is created for you but here in Nigeria, you find out that a civil servant has to pay equity of 10, 20 or 30 per cent as the case may be before he can access a loan to buy a house.

In other countries, you just need to be a civil servant and every month, you have something to pay with low interest rate. But it is a different situation here. So many civil servants need access to houses but they can’t meet up with the requisite requirement. How do you expect a Level 9 officer who is looking for a two-bedroom house to bring out N1.6 or N2m? He doesn’t have it. We believe the government can review the situation of mortgage in Nigeria to be able to provide more houses for Nigerians."

Just like Wamakko, the Managing Director of Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank Plc, Mr. Banjo Obaleye, has identified mortgage as a major challenge in Nigeria.

"There are so many things that are wrong in our system with respect to ease of accessing mortgage, and this includes even our salary system.”