Valuer Decries Govt’s Poor Funding Of Housing Sector

A real estate practitio
ner in Port Harcourt, Mr. Benjamin Oti, has decried the low rate of government investment in real estate development, saying that such attribute of government does not angur well for the growing population of Nigeria.
Oti, an estate Surveyor  and valuer  and a member of the Nigerian/Institution of Estate  Surveyor and  Valuer (NIESV)  in an interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt, said  that in  Port Harcourt alone, 80 per cent  of houses  are built  by individuals .
He said that the few places  where government had made efforts in housing development are in Elikahia Housing Estate, Woji, Rumuibekwe, Diobu and the recent Iriebe estate.
According to him, the lack of commitment on the part of government  towards housing development has added  to the very  high demand  for housing due mainly to increase in population.
The estate valuer, who specialises in environmental management said that if governments at both  the federal and state levels will take housing development policy  as a priority, and go ahead to be developing at least 500 to 1,000 housing units every  year, in a short time, the excess demand will reduce.
He said “All it will take for the government is to develop the political will, and to see the difficulties faced by the public, especially those in government service, as government   problem. Certain  per centage of the budget should be separated for such purpose”.
Oti also explained that 80 per cent of properties in developed countries like Britain are owned by government, which they call “Council Flats/Apartments, especially for single persons.
The real estate expert, therefore, called on the Rivers State Government and indeed the Federal Government to take housing development issues very seriously to provide accommodation for the teeming population.

Corlins Walter