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Nigeria’s Housing Deficit’ What Nigeria’s Housing Deficit’ What Hope In 2010?

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One major area that posed so much challenge to Nigeria’s development is the area of housing and property development. Virtually every city in Nigeria is faced with the challenge of affordable accommodation for its inhabitants, particularly those in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja which could be said to be the worst hit.

According to the world bank estimates, Nigeria needs to produce about 720, 000 housing units annually for the next 20 years, so as to be able to close the gap in her housing demand and supply.

The Minister of State for Works, Housing andUrban Development, Grace Ekpiwhre in a press statement recently posited that only 19.2 household in Nigeria live in their own homes.

In some highly populated cities like Lagos, statistical data have revealed that 65 percent of the 15 million residents of the city live in rented apartments, and spend over 50 per cent of  their  monthly earnings on house rent.

The same could also be said of the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), Port Harcourt, Enugu as well as other major cities across the country where income earners spend a very higher percentage of their income on rent.

To make matters worse on the provision of affordable housing, land it self has become extremely difficult to acquire, and various land owners have tended to take advantage of the situation to keep prices at cut throat level, where as the average income earner, especially the junior public servants who depend on monthly salary can hardly acquire a plot of land, even if he had to save 50 percent of his monthly salary.

In all these, government, both at the federal, state, and local government have not really taken giant steps towards addressing the matter, even if it means granting loans for housing to workers enmass.

It is for these reasons that the efforts put up by President Umaru Yar’dua on the land reform agenda is most commendable because of some notable impediment it is viewed to address in respect to home ownership and access to land.

The land use act was promulgated as the law use decree in 1978 by the military government under Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and is seen or viewed as a major obstacle to real estate development business.

Report citing the United Arab Emirate example quoted Abdul Kadiri of Ark Gold properties of advising Nigeria to go ahead – long for such reform for housing development, and such that can boast tourism.

According to him “The United Arab Emirate (UAE) is today world tourism destination, and this is simply because of changes it made in its land rules. In 2002, UAE liberalised its land rules, giving even foreigners freedom to acquire land and develop on same. Today, the story is what we see as Masdar City in Abu Dubai, Burji Dubai and Burj Al-Arab both in Dubai”.

It is true that much have been said about affordable houses and ownership of houses in the time past. The year 2009 is gone, and here  we are in 2010, and the question still is the way forward to actualise this goal of addressing Nigerian’s housing deficit onward.

Government has so much part to play in this regard. Housing loans should be made available to public servants to enable them own and live in their own houses.

Apart from providing soft housing loans, government at various levels can as well acquire land and either build on the land and resell them to public servants, while the cost be deducted from their salaries over a period of  a given time frame.

Private and over limited liability companies should also be encouraged to take the issue of housing for their workers very seriously through policies that will put them on focus for such important welfare matter.

At this point in time, the land reform becomes imperative because it is supposed to free land, not for the improvement of home ownership alone, but for other productive purposes like the agriculture, tourism and industries among others.

Nigeria is blessed with vast land and other resources, and if government will have the political will to implement the reforms and other solutions, only time will tell what we will achieve in a short while.           

 

Corlins Walter

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NPA Assures On Staff Welfare 

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The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, has said the management will continue to accompany its port infrastructure  and equipment  modernization drive  with the development of the welfare of its personnel.
Dantsoho made the disclosure recently while responding to the commendation by the Maritime Workers Union (MWUN) and the senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSASGOC) on the  clearing  of the age-long problem of employee stagnation, when the union paid him a courtesy visit at the Authority’s headquarters in Lagos.
A Statement by NPA’s General Manager Corporate & Strategic Communications, Mr. Ikechukwu Onyemekara, quoted Dantsoho as saying,  “our Port infrastructure and equipment modernization drive will go hand-in-hand with continuous staff welfare improvement”.
The NPA MD disclosed that human capital development constitutes the key strategy for creating and sustaining superior performance under his watch, adding that “talent development constitutes a critical success factor for the actualization of the big hairy audacious goals we have set for ourselves especially in the area of Port competitiveness.
“The only way we can meet and indeed exceed stakeholders’ expectations is to deepen the competencies of our human resources assets and boosting their morale.”
Speaking further, Dantsoho commended the Honourable Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, for approving the strategic proposal of the Dantsoho-led Management team that solved the over a decade-long problem of lack of promotion that had fuelled industrial disharmony.
“I must specially appreciate our amiable Minister for graciously approving the multi-pronged stratagem we deployed that cleared all outstanding cases of employee stagnation by conducting examinations in one fell swoop and instituted timelines to forestall a recurrence of such anomaly”, he sad.
Speaking on behalf of the joint maritime labour unions, the President  of Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations & Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), Comrade Bodunde stated, “In addition to clearance of the backlog of stagnated promotions, we also wish to express our appreciation for the increase in productivity bonuses, provision of end-of-year welfare packages for staff, and the revision of the Financial Guide to the Condition of Service, which now addresses our members’ concerns about inflationary pressures.”
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
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ANLCA Chieftain Emerges FELCBA’s VP

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National Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Elder Olumide Fakanlu, has been elected Vice President of the Federation of ECOWAS Licensed Customs Brokers Association (FELCBA).
The election took place during the FELCBA Congress, held from Tuesday, June 17th to Thursday, June 19th, 2025, in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Fakanlu’s emergence as Vice President marks a significant achievement for Nigeria within the regional customs brokerage community.
Apart from Fakanlu, Secretary of the Seme Chapter of ANLCA, Austin Nwosu, was also elected, securing the role of Secretary of Relations with Institutions.
The Nigerian delegation played an active role in the congress, with Michael Ebeatu nominated as a member of the electoral officer team, ensuring a fair and transparent election process.
The three-day congress concluded with delegates undertaking a visit to the Sierra Leone Port, offering insights into the host nation’s maritime operations, followed by a recreational trip to the Tokeh Beach.
The newly elected executives are expected to lead FELCBA in its efforts to harmonize customs brokerage practices, promote trade facilitation, and advocate for the interests of licensed customs brokers across the ECOWAS sub-region.
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
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NSC, Police Boost Partnership On Port Enforcement 

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In a bid to enhance more enforcement in the nation’s Port, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has reaffirmed its commitment to stronger inter-agency collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
The Council said the collaboration is aimed at enhancing stronger enforcement, compliance and improve operational efficiency across Nigeria’s ports.
Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of  NSC, Dr. Pius Akutah, made this known during a visit to the  Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.
The visit, which he said, focused on strengthening institutional synergy, comes in the wake of growing responsibilities for the NSC under the newly created Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
Akutah emphasized the critical role of security agencies in supporting port operations and ensuring regulatory compliance.
He called for the posting of police officers to assist the Council’s monitoring and enforcement teams at key port locations including Lagos, Warri, Onne, Port Harcourt, and Calabar.
“The posting will complement the activities of our revived task teams and enhance our ability to enforce standards across the maritime logistics chain”, he said.
Earlier, the Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Egbetokun, assured the Council of the Force’s readiness to continue supporting the growth of the maritime sector.
The IGP acknowledged that compliance enforcement is essential to the successful implementation of Nigeria’s Blue Economy objectives.
“The NSC and NPF are expected to deepen collaboration in the months ahead, with a shared focus on building a secure, efficient, and competitive port environment”, to the IGP emphasized.
Chinedu Wosu
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