A Quantity Surveyor, Mr. Segun Ajanlekoko, has said that the high cost of building materials and the constraints in land acquisition are responsible for the national housing deficit.

He said in Lagos last week that the sustained deficit has made it difficult for successive governments to meet the housing needs of low-income earners.

Ajanlekoko, who is the Managing Partner at Construction Economists Partnership Ltd., said the growing population and urbanisation made it imperative for government to address these issues.

“Urgent priority has to be given to these constraints, if the housing pressure is not to assume a crisis proportion during this new millennium,” he said.

He also suggested the establishment of construction bank, use of local building materials, simple housing designs and review of land use decree of 1976 as major priorities.

“Part of the problem of the industry is the inaccessibility of credits because commercial banks are not setup to loan money on long term bases.

“The establishment of the construction industry bank where lending is a lot easier and interest rates are far less than commercial rate would not only boost construction activity but help jump start young players in the industry.

“Part of the fund that could be made available for this bank could be pension funds from government agencies,” he said.

According to him, construction bank would help in bridging the housing needs of the low income earners.

He urged governments to use their various housing projects across the nation to champion the use of local materials in building.

He said that the nation needed about 8.5 million tonns of cement annually, noting: “our cement companies are only able to produce about two to three million. ’’

“This short fall has always accounted for the galloping cost of cement every year and over half of Nigeria’s cement need is imported. “

Ajanlekoko said the chances of the local cement industry meeting local demand for cement remained marginal as only four out of the seven cement companies in the country were working.

He said that government should free all land entrusted to them in order to enhance private sector participation in the industry.

“This would empower and improve activities in the industry and the paltry sum N26 billion for housing in the 2012 budget would become child’s play if more land is ceded to the private sector. “

Ajanlekoko said what Nigerians need “to survive the wounds of near-homelessness” was good governance, increased access to land, credit, affordable housing and environmentally sound and serviced human settlements.

He advised government take steps by using the available funds to achieve progressively the tenets of adequate shelter for Nigerians, especially the vulnerable group.