The President of the Association of Housing Corporations of Nigeria (AHCN), Dr. Victor Onukwugha has reiterated the urgent need to reassess the challenges faced by low and medium-income earners in accessing affordable housing.
He disclosed this in Abuja, at a 2- Day National Workshop combined with the AHCN’s 48th Annual General Meeting and 111th Council meeting, on Affordable Housing in Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to him, these challenges include inadequate housing finance, a sluggish mortgage market, affordability issues, land administration complexities, and inconsistent housing policy implementation.
“To tackle the housing needs of the medium and low income group that constitute majority of our citizens that require housing, there is urgent need to find sustainable solutions to various bugging questions such as inadequate housing finance to service both the demand and supply end of the market, crawling mortgage market, affordability question, land administration quagmire and instability of housing policy implementation among others.”
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Onukwugha emphasized the importance of sustainable solutions to tackle these challenges and outlined the need for collaboration among stakeholders to address housing deficit and affordability concerns effectively.
He raised concerns about the unnecessary duplication of duties between state housing agencies and ministries, which could lead to distraction, rivalry, and inefficient use of resources. He advocated for a focus on policy formulation and supervision by housing ministries, with agencies like the Federal Housing Authority empowered to lead mass housing initiatives across Nigeria. Additionally, Onukwugha stressed the importance of organized rental housing and urged state governments to support initiatives aimed at providing affordable rental housing options.
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“Time and situation are changing and we cannot afford to be doing things the way we were doing it in the past and expect to get results that will solve emerging challenges. It is time therefore to work together as stakeholders to holistically tackle our housing problems. Housing sector has potentials that can be tapped for driving our economic recovery if only we choose to get our act together to tackle housing deficit and affordability challenge. It is time to deviate from just talking without matching it with action.
“Stakeholders in the sector must embrace partnership options to help one another with strong advocacy group to influence decisions at all level of policy formulation and implementation.
One critical area that is yet to secure adequate attention in the sector is the provision of organized rental housing which ought to take care of those who are unable to afford outright purchase.”
Onukwugha expressed hope that the workshop would generate holistic solutions to address these challenges by fostering a progressive mindset and encouraging collaborative efforts among stakeholders in the housing sector.