Lagos govt delivers 9,970 housing units in six years

Giving the breakdown during the Ministerial Press Briefing to showcase the achievements of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in housing provision, the Commissioner for Housing, Hon. Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, said the ministry’s efforts in providing affordable homes through direct budgetary funding yielded 3,994 units of one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes, while Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) across the housing sector provided an additional 5,976 homes for allottees, totaling 9,970 units.

“Therefore, this administration has increased the state housing stock with a total of 9,970 home units in the last six years,” he said.

In June 2024, Akinderu-Fatai said the government delivered and commissioned the Egan-Igando Mixed Housing Estate (Cluster 1), comprising 270 units of two-bedroom apartments, thereby increasing the number of housing estates delivered across the five administrative divisions of Lagos State by Sanwo-Olu’s administration to 21 since 2019.

Disclosing the ongoing housing construction through budgetary allocation, the commissioner said that five schemes are currently ongoing.

According to him, these include the Egan-Igando Mixed Housing Scheme (Cluster II and III), with a total of 576 units in the Igando-Ikotun Local Council Development Area (LCDA), projected for completion in the first quarter of 2026; LagosHOMS Sangotedo Phase 2, located in Eti-Osa East LCDA, consisting of 528 housing units to be completed by the third quarter of 2025; and the Epe Housing Scheme, Itamarun, in Epe Local Government, projected to produce 112 housing units by the fourth quarter of 2025.

Others are the LagosHOMS Ajara in Badagry Local Government, with 420 home units projected for completion by the second quarter of 2025; and LagosHOMS Ibeshe Phase 2, with 192 housing units in Igbogbo-Baiyeku LCDA, to be completed by the third quarter of 2025.

The commissioner noted that by the time the ongoing projects are completed, the administration of Babajide Sanwo-Olu would have delivered a total of 14,022 housing units to Lagosians.

He revealed that other proposed housing initiatives include the construction of 720 units of two-bedroom apartments at Odo-Nla in Ikorodu North; construction of 720 units of two-bedroom apartments at Igbogbo-Baiyeku LCDA; construction of 192 units in Epe Housing Scheme Phase II; and 512 units at LagosHOMS Ajara Phase II in Badagry.

In the last six years, the commissioner stated that the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC) has completed 12 housing projects and delivered a total of 710 home units.

“Presently, the corporation has 25 ongoing projects at various locations, and these projects are estimated to produce a total of 2,415 home units in addition to the housing stock in the state.”

He hinted that the Lagos State Mortgage Board had assisted in creating value and comfort for over 20,000 residents in the state through the implementation of the Mortgage and Rent-to-Own policy.

The agency, according to the commissioner, has provided access to comfortable and affordable housing units, thereby reducing the housing deficit in the state and in Nigeria as a whole.

“The first set of allottees of the Rent-to-Own home ownership policy were successfully exited on the 29th of August, 2024. One hundred mortgagors who have completed their expected 10 years’ mortgage repayments were officially exited and finally became full allottees of their respective home units.

“The second edition of the exit ceremony for 212 mortgagors was held on the 12th of March, 2025,” Fatai-Akinderu said.

He hinted that the governor has also approved a new redemption policy for those who have paid for six years under the Rent-to-Own arrangement to take full ownership, subject to conditions.

He said the Lagos State Mortgage Board presently has 2,207 pending applications for home unit allocation within various schemes.

In a bid to make the state government estates livable and in line with the vision of making Lagos a 21st-century economy, he explained that the Ministry of Housing has provided modern infrastructure such as roads, car parks, drains, walkways, retaining walls, fences, sewage treatment plants, water supply/treatment, and external electrification at various government housing schemes.

He stated that the ministry has scaled up the facility management strategy to ensure Lagos State-owned estates maintain their aesthetic and economic values all year round.

He said: “Some of the approaches deployed include: Establishment of a Facility Management Unit (under the Estates Department) to coordinate issues related to estate facilities and their maintenance; establishment of a template for the appointment of facility managers. This has become a prerequisite in all our estates.

“Establishment of a Monitoring and Compliance Unit. The unit monitors all estates to detect infractions and violations of physical planning and environmental degradation rules as well as illegal development and infractions.

“Publication of allottees guide. The ministry reviewed the rules guiding the obligations and responsibilities of allottees and residents of all state government estates. The publication contains such guidelines as facility maintenance arrangements in the estates, election of estate residents’ associations, requirements for change of ownership, renovation, and replacement of lost documents, etc.”

The facility managers, he added, play crucial roles in ensuring adequate maintenance of shared facilities in all estates.

According to the commissioner, they also help to maintain a safe, secure, and well-maintained living environment for residents while ensuring the long-term sustainability and value of the estates.

The facility management structure put in place across the Lagos State Government estates, the commissioner said, has so far generated over 900 direct and indirect jobs for facility handlers, cleaners, security guards, and other artisans who are daily engaged to take care of the estates.

“The implementation of this sustainability policy has increased the oversight function of the ministry over the state government estates. It has also reduced the tendency and exposure of facilities to rot,” the Commissioner for Housing said.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE