Fashola promises low cost houses

By Segun Balogun

March 16, 2011 04:58AM

The Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola on Tuesday, set housing mortgage a top priority in his agenda if voted in for a second term in the next month’s election. Mr. Fashola made the promise while addressing thousands of party supporters at an election rally held in Ibeju Lekki area of the state. “I am determined to break this mortgage jinx,” he told the supporters, who despite the scorching sun, stood to listen to the governor.

A realistic promise

Housing mortgage has been a strong weapon of Mr. Fashola’s critics, who have always used the achievement of the first civilian governor of the state, Lateef Jakande, in the provision of low cost houses, as the minimum standard the state deserves.

At the rally, the governor told the people his planned housing provision is a clear detour from the type of houses provided during his first term in office, many of which has been described as elitist. He said the promise is no longer a dream as 2000 low cost houses out of which about 200 are sited in Ibeju Lekki, have been built across the state as a pilot test of the planned housing mortgage. “To own any of these houses, you will only pay thirty percent of the one you like and complete the payment over 10 to 15 years. And as the mortgage business expands, the number of years will be extended to 25 years. But the house becomes yours the very day you pay the 30 percent deposit” he said, adding that the houses will be given out on “first come, first serve basis.” “If you are number 101 on the payment list, you will wait until the 101th house is built.”

He explained that the state government has already secured the needed land for the housing scheme in twelve locations across the state. He added that the least of the lands is 30 hectares while the biggest is about 400 hectares.

Future prosperity

Mr. Fashola told the people to “keep the ACN party in power, remain peaceful, receive investors with open hands and warm smile” because his plan is to make Ibeju Lekki sub region of the state the future prosperity of Nigeria. He said the region is already being dubbed the fastest growing real estate zone in West Africa and it will soon host the biggest Free Trade Zone in the region also, in addition to an airport, a seaport, a fertiliser and petrochemical company. “I just returned from Scotland where we went to finalise the arrangement of gas supply that will be used for the Independent Power Project of the Lekki Free Trade Zone and all of Ibeju Lekki area. This government [of ACN] knows its responsibility to the people and the best way to discharge that responsibility,” he said, asking the people to get ready for a deluge of prosperous opportunities.

He also promised the people that they will get the best excision plan so far because he is personally supervising the ongoing excision exercise which will empower the indigent people to partake in the real estate boom currently being witnessed in the area.

Youth Strategy

The party’s chairman, Henry Ajomale said the party is relying on the youth of the area to ensure ACN wins all elective offices in the region, which is a stronghold of the PDP. Therefore, several youth groups spoke at the rally.

Temitope Ogungbo, a student union chieftain said “We want to see PDP out of Ibeju Lekki. We will no longer follow bad luck because we have not seen any benefit from those representing us,” taking a swipe at the two PDP House of Assembly members representing the constituency.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5683369-146/story.csp

Lagos Boy:

Fashola promises low cost houses

By Segun Balogun

March 16, 2011 04:58AM

A realistic promise

Housing mortgage has been a strong weapon of Mr. Fashola’s critics, who have always used the achievement of the first civilian governor of the state, Lateef Jakande, in the provision of low cost houses, as the minimum standard the state deserves.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5683369-146/story.csp

Not forgetting free education and free health also in four years of government by Jakande.
And LKJ had less money to work with but produced results for more people.
Fashola was busy in the past four years sharing Lagosians taxes and federal allocation with Tinubu to bribe judges for election verdicts in other states to increase Tinubu's influence and private empire.

seguno2:

Not forgetting free education and free health also in four years of government by Jakande.
And LKJ had less money to work with but produced results for more people.
Fashola was busy in the past four years sharing Lagosians taxes and federal allocation with Tinubu to bribe judges for election verdicts in other states to increase Tinubu's influence and private empire.

Fine but dont forget that jakande did not have thousands of people pouring into lagos everyday from all over the country.!!!, so consider the poplation as well. To me it is impossible to house everybody in lagos cos people are coming in on a daily basis!!

I noticed that he conveniently left out how much the houses would cost, which would tell us how much the thirty percent would be, funny

youngmonie:

Fine but dont forget that jakande did not have thousands of people pouring into lagos everyday from all over the country.!!!, so consider the poplation as well. To me it is impossible to house everybody in lagos cos people are coming in on a daily basis!!

Your rebuttal is a disservice to the man Fashola!totally pointless, people have always migrated to Lagos even before Independence and people have not stopped to this day. Meanwhile Fashola is an outstanding achiever, it is possible to provide low-cost accomodation and he is capable of achieving that objective, whether it is caters for everyone is another kettle of fish altogether.

In as much as we all think Fashola is doing well in Lagos state, the amount quoted as being spent on contracts awarded is alarming and seriously need to be looked into. Also, he really have to slow down on his tax regime because taxation with little benefit on the payers is fraud. And some petty business owners that can barely survive from their business are also forced to pay tax which is bad. What profit will they make after paying tax? In Greece, if you earn less than 10,000 euros per annum, you dont pay tax. That is equivalent to about 2million naira per annum in Nigeria which a lot of graduates dont earn.

seguno2:

Not forgetting free education and free health also in four years of government by Jakande.
And LKJ had less money to work with but produced results for more people.
Fashola was busy in the past four years sharing Lagosians taxes and federal allocation with Tinubu to bribe judges for election verdicts in other states to increase Tinubu's influence and private empire.

Is LKJ the yardstick for measuring BRFs' performance now? , d rest of your post is baseless thus we would just ignore it

we have no saviour yet oooo,both acn and pdp are thief.

as long as d mortgage is well structured, i dnt think the cost wld b a problem, a properly financed.

It shouldn't cost more than between 5milla to 8 milla.

2nd term indeed
nobody will critilize fashola now,
if it is Goodluck now,
all these 'black berry' people with ugly mouth will start raising negative allegations to the Man(GeJ),suitable for this nation 'up bring'
pathetic

Really? Low cost houses to be sold to the rich who will invariably sell it to the poor.

honeric01:

It shouldn't cost more than between 5milla to 8 milla.

It must not be more than 3-4milla if it is for the Masses or is that the type of housing B/B wants to provide?
Ribadu for Sure!!

Go Fashola! Abeg how can we key in? We need details of the existing ones and the new ones to come.

Pappij:

Is LKJ the yardstick for measuring BRFs' performance now? , d rest of your post is baseless thus we would just ignore it

So who should be the yardstick please?
I thought the yorubas said that eshin iwaju ni ti eyin nwo sare - the leading horse inspires those behind.
We should stop accepting half measures from these regressives masquerading as progressives. They belong in the same camp as PDP that they are demonising to fool the non-discerning masses.

honeric01:

It shouldn't cost more than between 5milla to 8 milla.

Is that affordable to a level 5 civil servant in Lagos State based on his salary alone?
If the answer is NO then it cannot be a low cost house by the same Lagos State government based on the taxes of Lagosians and the federal allocation collected on their behalf.
Meanwhile no promise on free education and health. He needs to be prodded again to pledge that.
Fashola should shake off BAT and his roguish ways to deliver adequate progressive dividends to the people otherwise people will start to see clearly with or without 7Up.

Fhemmmy:

Great idea and when i listened to his debate on this subject, I am really impressed . . .  if he achieved his goal, it will be great

He knows he can't achieve it.

Non of our politicians want to stick their heads out and play with figures. They all will tell us solutions, without telling us exactly how they tend to achieve it. Even nairalanders know all the problems we have in Nigeria.

Now imagine, if an incumbent cannot give figures or back up his claim that there will be free housing, how will the opposition have a clue on how to tackle the problem or argue a different alternative.

We need to remove sentiments, low cost housing is a thing of the past or a thing of not the immediate future. Even if the houses are built with the cheapest materials available today, they still can't be considered low cost based on capital that will be required to complete the houses.

These Low cost houses will find their way back into the power play market. [Just imagining a low cost house at NGN 10m, the successful applicants might be quick to sell at NGN 20m and move back to rented accomodation]

Illiteracy is a worse problem than corruption in Nigeria. There is a man doing something for people and some probably tribalistic illiterates have the nerve to mention petty nonsene. Where is the money supposed to come from if businesses are not taxed? For your info, Lagos has more investments now than ever so if your business collapses, it was already doomed and taxes have nothing to do with it. If nothing else, this man is setting a standard for all your chiefs in your villages (cause you sound like a villager) to follow and it is up to you to hold them accountable. Instead of wasting your time harboring petty jealousy 

If you guys are so worried about it, run for office and let's see what 'you' can do. Fashola is not a magician but a human and he is trying hard for the people. Who else has done that in the history of Nigeria. All the so called 'free health and education' you morons are talking about were all sub standard anyway.

Go Fashola! At least he is a selfless and visionary leader with listening ears just like GEJ. Giving no room for ethnic and religious evil sentiments. My respective votes are personality driven and not party whatever.

Yeah this is a nice one but the problem now by the time this so called house are completed the price tag will be so embarrassing that people will be wondering what make it a low cost house. Beside the ones Jakande built till date are already decayed and nothing was done about it and more is to be build? well lets wait and see though is a good development and Fashola always do what he says but the cost will be the obstacle for average earner I can bet that.

I think affordable housing in Lagos is an issue that needs to be resolved, but I disagree as to the means by which the Governor Fashola is trying to resolve it. I think that Governor Fashola should give tax incentives to a private developer who will provide this low cost housing, and then the developer will collect enough rent that will make it affordable for an average Lagosian to live in. This developer should also be required to rent out some units (probably not more than 40% of the units) to others for a fair market price. This way it will be a mixed-income development.

That way, the developer can collect enough money to MAINTAIN the units, which will be more sustainable on the long run. People who make below a certain income will qualify for the low rents or can apply for government assistance in paying their rent. I believe this will be a more sustainable path to low housing than the method Governor Fashola is using and the low-cost houses he or his predecessor, Tinubu, has built. Those houses are not properly maintained by the government, and they end up being slums inhabited by low income people. Remember how the Jakande low-cost housing ended? Not so good. My two cents.

babaogun:

He knows he can't achieve it.


Non of our politicians want to stick their heads out and play with figures. They all will tell us solutions, without telling us exactly how they tend to achieve it. Even nairalanders know all the problems we have in Nigeria.

Now imagine, if an incumbent cannot give figures or back up his claim that there will be free housing, how will the opposition have a clue on how to tackle the problem or argue a different alternative.

We need to remove sentiments, low cost housing is a thing of the past or a thing of not the immediate future. Even if the houses are built with the cheapest materials available today, they still can't be considered low cost based on capital that will be required to complete the houses.

These Low cost houses will find their way back into the power play market. [s]Just imagining a low cost house at NGN 10m, the successful applicants might be quick to sell at NGN 20m and move back to rented accomodation[/s]

Your mindset shows nothing but unnecessary criticism.You have not seen the blueprint of these project yet you are assuming a price as high as #20m .na wa for you o

Princek12:

I think affordable housing in Lagos is an issue that needs to be resolved, but I disagree as to the means by which the Governor Fashola is trying to resolve it. I think that Governor Fashola should give tax incentives to a private developer who will provide this low cost housing, and then the developer will collect enough rent that will make it affordable for an average Lagosian to live in. This developer should also be required to rent out some units (probably not more than 40% of the units) to others for a fair market price. This way it will be a mixed-income development.

That way, the developer can collect enough money to MAINTAIN the units, which will be more sustainable on the long run. People who make below a certain income will qualify for the low rents or can apply for government assistance in paying their rent. I believe this will be a more sustainable path to low housing than the method Governor Fashola is using and the low-cost houses he or his predecessor, Tinubu, has built. Those houses are not properly maintained by the government, and they end up being slums inhabited by low income people. My two cents.

I fancy this model

babaogun:

He knows he can't achieve it.

Non of our politicians want to stick their heads out and play with figures. They all will tell us solutions, without telling us exactly how they tend to achieve it. Even nairalanders know all the problems we have in Nigeria.

Now imagine, if an incumbent cannot give figures or back up his claim that there will be free housing, how will the opposition have a clue on how to tackle the problem or argue a different alternative.

We need to remove sentiments, low cost housing is a thing of the past or a thing of not the immediate future. Even if the houses are built with the cheapest materials available today, they still can't be considered low cost based on capital that will be required to complete the houses.

These Low cost houses will find their way back into the power play market. [Just imagining a low cost house at NGN 10m, the successful applicants might be quick to sell at NGN 20m and move back to rented accomodation]

+100.

He is just saying it to get votes. I don't blame the man. . . sometimes you have to promise things which don't make any sense just to make the people happy. People love being told lies, for some reason, and do not like hearing hard truths 

As you say, giving away "low-cost housing" is just going to enrich the pocket of whoever is lucky enough to get on the list, who will then flip the house for a quick profit  

With that said. . . increased access to loans would be useful. If Lagos State setup the equivalent of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac for the state, it would do a lot of good.

Good show Fashola, but you forget Low Cost Housing in Lagos State is usually pre-sold to Lagos Billionaires who rent it to Big-Boys at stupendous rates. Dolphin Estate Ikoyi was conceived as a Low-Cost Middle-income earners paradise, You wan try the billionaires who reside there?

~Bluetooth:

Your mindset shows nothing but unnecessary criticism.You have not seen the blueprint of these project yet you are assuming a price as high as #20m .na wa for you o

Politicians are to be criticised. I wasn't assuming NGN 20m, I assumed NGN10m.
He said enough during the Lagos State debate.
Remember, this is housing and not what Fashola has done in general!!!

AFTER 4 YEARS IN OFFICE, IT NEVER OCCURED TO HIM THAT LAGOSIANS NEED LOW COST HOUSES.

HE IS STILL MY MAN ANYWAYS, AT ALL AT ALL NA WINSH, afterall him dey try pass the rest

If the house will accomodate N18,000.00 civil servants, then I will believe him.

Evrybody keep making promises nowadays

lynxnoon:

Evrybody keep making promises nowadays

i promise not to make any promise to you

Low cost housing my foot. Tell Fashola to resolve the unemployment rate in lagos before planning housing. let imagine building a low cost housing that cannot be less than 7million for a teaming unemployed youth, where do we see the fund to pay for the so called low cost housing.

dipo1234:

Low cost housing my foot. Tell Fashola to resolve the unemployment rate in lagos before planning housing. let imagine building a low cost housing that cannot be less than 7million for a teaming unemployed youth, where do we see the fund to pay for the so called low cost housing.

i dont think it is fasholas job to create employment for you or anyone. his job is to lay down the groundwork, the platform, from which all businesses can thrive. you guys have to fill in the gap. learn a trade. open a shoe making factory etc etc. do something