Housing Deficit: Firm Urges FG To Widen PPP Net, Embark On Urban Renewal

The  managing director El-Salem Homes International, Mr. Ben Gbade Ojo, has called on the federal government to widen public private partnership (PPP) net and embark on urban renewal projects.

Mr Ojo made the call  when he received the “Excellence in Mass Housing Development in Africa” award in Abuja.

Also honoured was the minister of housing and urban development, Arc. Ahmed Dangiwa and Sokoto State governor, Dr. Ahmed Aliyu, both of whom carted away African housing awards at the event.

The awards were presented by the Housing Development Advocacy Network (HDAN), a continental body that tracks and profiles housing development in African countries.

Mr. Ojo, who is also the president of the Nigeria-Ukraine Business Council and president of Nigeria-Namibia Chamber of Commerce, in his speech, decried the mounting housing deficit in Nigeria and called on the federal government to “drastically increase its engagement of the private sector in carrying out its housing programmes to enable significant reduction of the massively increasing housing deficit in Nigeria.”

“Though the federal government has been using the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model for its housing programmes, government’s engagement level was still very low and narrow.

” Government should grossly widen its PPP net to bring more housing development players into the PPP net.

The government’s current level of engagement with the private sector in housing development is grossly inadequate and will not make much impact especially in the light of the housing minister’s recent statement that Nigeria’s housing gap will require about N5.5 trillion per annum over a ten-year period to close,” he noted.

He said the low level of engagement with the private sector will only continue to widen the gap, rendering millions of Nigerians homeless and increasing urban slums.

He said, “PPP should be enlarged to tackle the increasing number of slums now springing up in our urban areas.”

He added, “Urban renewal is a programme undertaken by United Nations member states to convert slums in urban centres into suitable and habitable residential havens, through the construction of modern housing with modern amenities for the urban poor.

“The federal and state governments should quickly embark on massive urban renewal to stem the growing slum settlements in Nigeria”.

According to him, El-Salem has a track record of excellence in urban renewal, as “we have helped some states convert their slum areas to residential havens. We are available for partnership with the federal and state governments to convert slum settlements to residential havens.”

El-Salem also holds “The Most Outstanding Estate Developer in Abuja” award, and the “Excellence Award in Mass Housing Development in Nigeria” among other housing industry awards.

Mr Ojo on why the awards keep coming to El-Salem, said, “The El-Salem brand of homes is now a leading brand in Africa. This is because El- Salem builds with the mindset that its homes will be passed to multiple generations yet unborn and so we focus on the use of high quality, durable building materials, whether in mass housing or luxury developments. Apart from being an invaluable investment, an El-Salem home is truly special and timeless, a rare store of value that keeps appreciating in value, year after year, for your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and your descendants yet unborn. This is the seal on every El-Salem home.  These are the reasons why these awards have kept coming in. We shall never relent in giving home-buyers the very best in quality. Always buy the El-Salem brand of homes. The El-Salem brand represents top notch quality homes.”