REDAN to FG: Partner with us in mass housing delivery

The Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) has urged the federal government to partner with its members in mass housing delivery.

President of REDAN, Alhaji Aliyu Wammako, said that the real estate industry was in a better position to handle the housing crisis in Nigeria rather than individual contractors who could not be held accountable and had a less transparent system. Wammako said, “ We have been formidable in the sector for a very long time and we will be able to advise the government on the costs.

“Instead of the government calling on contractors that they don’t have control over, they should give loans at a single digit rate to our members, we will pay taxes, pay interest on the loans, create employment, build these houses and maintain them after building. “Go round and see the houses that were built by those contractors and you will see their dilapidated state, some of the roofs are off and it is reptiles who live there now but we build and maintain and that is the beauty of working with real estate developers.”

He also said that the industry needed the government to intervene in the housing sector to stimulate it after the economic downturn it faced during the pandemic. Wammako, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Jedo Investment Company, said the industry suffered during the pandemic and the recession hit it hard. He said that it was imperative that the federal government prioritized the industry because it was essential to the economy and housing was a basic human need. Wammako said, “We believe the government can do something presently if we want to rejuvenate the economy by way of giving incentive or intervention funds to the housing industry just like they did in the health sector and the agriculture sector.

There was also an intervention in the entertainment industry, shelter is one of the three major needs of man.” According to him, the real estate sector contributed 6.4 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) before the 2020 pandemic set in and the recession followed.