FG Should Provide Bailout Funds to Bridge Housing Deficits in Nigeria – Country Hill

Managing Director/CEO, Country Hill, Adewale Oshinaike has urged the federal government to provide bailout funds to real estate companies to build houses in all parts of the country to bridge housing deficit in the country.

According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics in PwC’s 2019 report tagged “National Housing Fund”, it was estimated that Nigeria has a deficit of 17 million houses as of 2012 and requires 700,000 houses annually compared to the less 100,000 currently being constructed.

Oshinaike said that government providing the bailout fund for private real estate companies to build the houses will speedily close the housing deficit, and also provide job opportunities for thousands of people around the country.

He added that the fund should be made available for local investors to build, sell and return the capital to the government after some particular years.

“In Dubai, government gives private organisations funds to build houses or give them land if they know that the company has money to build houses. Houses in Dubai today are more than the people who live in there and they are still building. Such ideas attract investors, visitors and tourism”, he explained.

He also pointed that government should also create policies that will allow foreign investors to invest in real estate Nigeria, saying that such kind of investment will in many solve the  housing deficit.

Oshinaike stressed that there has not been a major real estate company in Nigeria because of some instability in the economy in the last four years.

“I was in Dubai few weeks ago to speak with some investors, what those guys were asking for are what Nigeria banks cannot provide. They were saying that I should a bring letter of credit, bank guarantee, so when you bring bank guarantee, you go to your local bank and the bank will tell you that you should go and bring certain percentage of the money those investors want to give you as a loan, if I have that kind of money, why do I need investors?”, he asked.

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In addition to the bailout funds, Oshinaike wants government to provide enabling environment for the private sector to bring in foreign investors to invest in real estate in Nigeria, adding that there are many government policies that are hindering foreign investor in the real estate industry.