FCT C Of O Plan Will Facilitate Mortgage Growth, Reduce Poverty — HDAN

The Pioneer Housing Advocacy/Civil Society Organization in Nigeria, Housing Development Advocacy Network (HDAN) has commended the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike for the laudable policy of issuing certificates of occupancy (C of O) to all houses in the Mass Housing Projects in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

In a statement released in Abuja on Wednesday, the executive director HDAN, Festus Adebayo noted that the policy is highly anticipated to remove the dead capital which can be seen across all the states in Nigeria and FCT.

According to Adebayo, the dead capital are those properties that have no legal recognition and that cannot be used for financial transaction. “Therefore, for a Minister of FCT, Wike, to have issued a directive that all dead assets in the FCT be brought alive with legal titles is a good development.

“To us in HDAN, we have read this as part of the policy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration manifestoes and we are very happy that this has started from the FCT through the minister, Nyesom Wike.

According to HDAN, if this is done, the economy of Nigeria will improve within one year.

According to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, the purpose of setting up the task force is to ensure that houses in the mass housing estate are granted certificates of occupancy.

“The implication of this policy according to HDAN is that with C of O, the owners of these properties can have access to finance and this will reduce the level of poverty in the country. It will also affect the mortgage sector positively”, says HDAN.

He further stated that Nigeria is reported to hold close to $1 trillion worth of dead capital in residential real estate that should have been used as catalysts for the rapid economic development of the country and the reduction of abject poverty among Nigerians.

“According to a 2018 – 2019 Nigeria Living Standards Survey (NLSS) report by the Bureau of Statistics (NBS), 71.4 per cent of landlords sampled across the 36 states and federal capital Territory are without titles. This is one of the causes of poverty in Nigeria says HDAN.”

Adebayo further stated that HDAN will continue to support the success of this laudable policy which has just been introduced in the FCT, and we also do more in creating awareness to state governors to adopt this policy in their domains.

He further stated that this type of policy will facilitate the development of the mortgage sector and generally encourage the reliance on properties as security for credit; generating substantial revenue for the state and federal governments.

On the benefits of this type of policy, we are calling on President Tinubu to prevail on state governors to issue C of O to all houses in the mass housing projects in their domains.

HDAN has been at the forefront of relentlessly pursuing the development of the housing sector and has recently began consultation with the National Assembly on how to amend some of the obsolete laws that have been preventing a conducive environment for real estate investment in Nigeria.