Stakeholders task NBS, NPC, FMWH on housing deficit data

While many have faulted the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola’s claims on Nigeria’s housing deficit, others are calling for collaboration among institutions of government to evolve correct data for the sector. DAYO AYEYEMI reports.

It came as a shock  to many stakeholders in the real estate sector, last Thursday, when the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, said there was no housing crisis in Nigeria, given the presence of empty houses in few cities across the country.

The minister stated this while refuting claims that Nigeria has a 17 million housing deficit, during the weekly ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communication Team at the presidential villa, Abuja.

Fashola argued that the pressure on housing in the country was caused by rural-urban migration, which he said had created a demand and supply problem.

He said that even though people leave their houses in the rural areas to squat in the cities, it did not amount to a housing deficit in the country.

“It is illogical to say we have that housing deficit when you have empty houses.  No such deficit exists anywhere in the world,” he said.

However, the minister affirmed that the actual housing deficit in Nigeria cannot be ascertained until another census is conducted in the country.

Experts’ views

As a follow-up to this, experts in the sector, who have expressed shock following the minister’s outburst, are calling on the National Bureau of Statistics (NBC), National Population Commission and the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing (FMWH) to collaborate with other stakeholders and professionals bodies in the sector with the sole aim of carrying out the required research and develop accurate housing deficit’s data for the country.

A professional, Sakar Alhaji Ahmed, said there was a need to know the housing deficit/ surplus for planning and developmental purposes.

For this purpose, he urged the FMWH, NPC, NBS and National Council on Housing to collaborate in order to bail out the sector and the country.

“Personally I had always doubted the credibility of those figures,” he said.

Another stakeholder, Adelekun Folashade, argued that if the figures being brandished around were not accurate, the ministry and NBS should give Nigerians accurate data.

“So if the figures were not accurate, what is the ministry and NBS going to do to give us accurate data?  Data are meant to be used for planning and development purposes,’ she said

Commenting on Adebayo’s face-book platform, Olusesi Boyejo, said it has become expedient now for the National Bureau of Statistics and the minister’s office to do the required research to evolve the accurate housing deficit’s data.

Many other people also faulted the minister’s claims on housing deficit data.

Executive Director, Housing Development Advocacy of Nigeria (HDAN), Mr Festus Adebayo, said the challenge is the need to work with the minister to discover the truth.

Finding the truth, he said, can’t be done by the minister alone, pointing out that all the leading stakeholders, advocacy groups, and professional bodies must be on the same page with the minister.

“We need to be together.  If we are not one, it’s going to have a very serious effect on the real estate sector that is supposed to be creating the largest employment in the country,” he said.

Adebayo, a promoter housing fair, said he was aware that a lot of efforts have taken place among the stakeholders about how to get data on the sector

“Talking about unoccupied houses, who are the people that own them? These are not the houses that we are talking about. The houses we are talking about are those houses that people below the ladder need. This will be our major focus as we approach 15th Abuja International Housing Show,” he said.

US-based Housing and Mortgage Finance consultant, Mr Kunle Faleti, stated that, that Nigerians suffered from a severe housing deficit is a cross understatement.

According to him, the minister’s position on the gap is somewhat flawed as “it is taking into consideration only urban migration, and forgetting to account for supply, vacancy rate and demand.”

Another person, who identified himself   as Hector Ejifor, the issue at hand has become worrisome.

He said: “The implication here is that we don’t even have data on housing need/ deficit in Nigeria. Now let me ask, what have they been planning all these years?”