Economic retreat: Build 250 housing units yearly – Buhari tasks APC Governors

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday during the economic retreat urged the 22 states under the watch of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to erect 250,000 housing units in each year of their tenure.

He pointed out that the move will enable the party meet up with the election campaign promise of providing one million houses for Nigerians yearly.

Buhari also tasked foreign investors and local construction companies to be part of the new effort to overcome Nigeria’s housing deficit.

He said: “Some estimates put Nigeria’s housing deficit at about sixteen million units. In our successful campaign to win the general elections last year our party, the APC, promised to build a million housing units a year. This will turn out to be a very tall order unless:

“The Federal Government builds two hundred and fifty thousand units. The 22 APC States together manage another two hundred and fifty thousand units.

He added, “We invite foreign investors together with local domiciled big construction companies to enter into commercial housing building to pick up the rest.”

He highlighted the problems facing the housing sector to include severe shortage of housing, high rents, unaffordable prices for prospective buyers especially middle and low-income earners.

“In addition, red tape, corruption and plain public service inefficiency lead to long delays in obtaining ownership of title documents.

“Again, there are no long term funding sources for mortgage purposes.

“These hurdles are by no means easy to scale, but we must find solutions to the housing deficit. This Retreat might start by looking at the laws,” he stated.