The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola on Satursday disclosed that the federal government has concluded on how it plans to build more houses for Nigerians in its mass housing programme and would soon launch the implementation strategies....

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola on Satursday disclosed that the federal government has concluded on how it plans to build more houses for Nigerians in its mass housing programme and would soon launch the implementation strategies.

Fashola spoke at the 46th annual conference of the Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors (NIESV) in Abuja. He also called for a careful review of the exorbitant agency terms often dished out to house seekers by estate agents in cities across the country.

Represented by his Special Adviser on Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Abiodun Oki at the conference, Fashola stated that it was no secret that Nigeria has a huge housing deficit; he however explained that the government has designed clear steps to quickly begin to close the gap.

Fashola had in December 2015 announced during his inaugural press briefing that the federal government would partner state governments in a new housing model that would yield up to N10 billion annual funding for 17,760 flats to be built across the country in one year.

He however said at the NIESV conference: “Of course it is no secret that we are faced with a housing deficit that we must reduce, what is debatable is of course the size of the deficit. My take is that whatever the size of the deficit, the first step to reducing it starts with a clear plan, which we are already working on, and not with lamentations which we are not indulging in.”

“Very shortly, we will be unveiling the details of that plan to Nigerians, and how we intend to use it to re-ignite and diversify our economy on a sustainable basis,” added Fashola.