Former Managing Director of the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company, Professor Charles Inyangete, has disclosed that to forestall a housing crisis in the country in the next couple of years, Nigeria would require N3.65 trillion to increase housing stock by 730,000 units annually.
Speaking at a facility management forum in Abuja to mark the World Facility Management Day, Inyangete said the country currently has a housing deficit of 21 million units, adding that going by the current growth rate in Nigeria, there would be a significant housing deficit in the coming years, unless efforts are geared towards addressing the gap.
At the event organised by the International Facility Management Association, IFMA, and sponsored by Total Facility Management Limited, Inyangete argued that in total, the country would require $363 billion, about N111.08 trillion to meet current housing deficit in the country.
He added that Nigeria is faced with poor infrastructure not only in the area of inadequate housing, but also in access to electricity and internet facility as well as poor road network. He said: “Only 25 per cent of our population has access to electricity; 51 per cent of Nigerians have access to internet; while only 18 per cent of Nigerian roads are paved.
These poor infrastructure pose serious challenges for the country.” Specifically, Inyangete said the poor infrastructure facility is reducing national economic growth by two per cent and business productivity by 40 per cent.
To this end, he said facility managers have a crucial role to play in addressing these challenges, adding that professionals are expected to enhance their contribution to the sustainable cities agenda and also develop tools for the purpose of monitoring the performance of facilities.
To bridge this gap, he noted that efforts should be geared towards opening the capital market to enable facility managers raise fund seamlessly, as this would deepen their contribution to building sustainable cities.
He added that “Government cannot do it alone. There is increasing need for public private partnership to address Nigeria’s economic growth.” Also speaking, Mr. Lawal Magaji, chairman, IFMA, Abuja chapter, emphasised the need for facility managers to be involved at the conception and design stages of any building or facility project, to ensure cost-effective management and maintenance of the facilities.Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!