Many of the federal housing estates built by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari to bridge the country’s housing deficit are unoccupied and rotting away across states, investigations by Daily Trust on Sunday have revealed.

This is just as many civil servants are lamenting that the cost of the houses are unaffordable.

Successive governments in the country had pledged to provide affordable housing for low-income earners.

The contracts for the construction of different categories of housing units were awarded in 2016 to 542 contractors for a sum of N27.488 million per unit.

Of the 6,022 housing units billed for construction in 46 sites across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), 2,864 are said to have been completed; while others are at various stages of completion.

While performing the groundbreaking ceremony of the civil servants housing estate in Apo Extension, Abuja, under the Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) programme, Buhari had promised to build 5,000 houses yearly in each state for public workers for three years.

These included one, two and three-bedroom bungalows in states in the North- East, North-West and North-Central; blocks of 16 and 24 flats (condominiums) of one, two and three-bedrooms and bungalows in the South-South, South- East and South-West and the FCT.

Earlier this year, the ministry said it had audited the NHP, reviewed the allocation process and retained the prices fixed by the immediate past administration.

The fixed prices are N7.22 million for a one bedroom unit in a condominium block; N9.268 million for a one bedroom unit in a semi-detached bungalow; N9.148 million for a two bedroom unit in a condominium block; N12.398 million for a two bedroom semi-detached bungalow (type A); N10.833 million for a two bedroom semi-detached bungalow (type B); N13.246 million for a three bedroom unit in a condominium block and N16.491 million for a three bedroom unit in a semi-detached bungalow.

However, findings by our correspondents showed that many of the houses that were completed are still unoccupied as civil servants and low income earners, expected to benefit from the project, decried that the costs were beyond their reach.

Kwara

Many of the structures of the NHP’s estate, which was commissioned in 2022 by the then Minister of Iinformation and Culture, Lai Mohammed, are unoccupied. The estate consists of 48 units of two-bedroomd, 20 units of three-bedrooms; four units of one-bedroom and four units of three-bedrooms.

A resident, who simply identified himself as Mr Bunyamin, said: “They are just rotting away in the midst of lack of accommodation for many Nigerians due to the high price. A two-bedrooms flat is being sold for N12.5 million, N25 million for four-bedrooms, N16.5 million for three-bedrooms and N9.5 million for one-bedroom.”

Similarly, another resident in the estate, Mr Asare Max, said the cost of the houses was too exorbitant for low-income workers.

He said since the buildings were completed in 2017, they were painted more than five times before the commissioning, adding that some of the structures had started showing signs of damage.

Niger

In Niger State, our correspondent discovered that only few of the 80 units of the houses in the NHP’s estate were occupied. The estate, located at the Three-Arms Zone, Eastern Bypass, consists of four units of one-bedroom flat, 52 units of two-bedrooms, 20 units of three-bedrooms and four units of four bedrooms.

Some civil servants, who spoke to our correspondent, said they were interested in applying for the houses, but the portal was yet to be opened for prospective applicants.

Plateau

In Jos, the Plateau State capital, the NHP’s projects are unoccupied and deteriorating.

The state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Musa Ashoms, confirmed that the project was completed, but abandoned.

Ashoms said: “Yes, there is a federal government housing project located in Laminga village of Jos East Local Government of Plateau State. The project has since been completed and allocated, but unoccupied. Or, the project has been completed but not allocated. So, it is a completed project, but unoccupied.

“The housing project is a three-bedrooms flat, designed to be occupied by federal civil servants in the state. Now, these completed houses are fast deteriorating since they are not occupied.

“I hereby call on the federal government to, not only ensure these completed houses are allocated, but also occupied immediately, because houses not occupied deteriorate faster than the ones occupied”, he said.

 Kogi

In Kogi State, some of the houses at the federal housing estate along the Lokoja-Okene road at Crusher-Felele-Lokoja area of the state capital are unoccupied; while hoodlums have destroyed the facilities therein. The estate consists of one and three-bedrooms semi-detached bungalows.

One of the few occupants of Phase 1 of the estate, Kareem Aremu, said: “Many of the houses are empty because they have not been allocated to anyone. So, burglars continue to invade the estate and cart away fittings in some of the houses,” he said.

Some of the civil servants spoken to said the amount being charged per unit of the bungalows was far beyond the capacity of an average salary earner in the state. They said one-bedroom semi-detached bungalow costs N9.2 million.

“No civil servant or an average businessman can afford to pay such a huge amount to own a house in the estate. That is why most of the houses are still empty without owners,” a civil servant said.

He said the ministry recently issued a circular to prospective buyers to bid for the unoccupied houses.

Nasarawa

Many workers in Nasarawa State said they could not afford the cost of the federal housing estate located at Akurba in Lafia Local Government Area. The estate comprises 62 units of three-bedrooms detached bungalows (N10.1 million each) and 82 units of two-bedrooms detached bungalows (N9.2 million each).

A civil servant in the state appealed to both the federal and the state governments to “make the cost of the houses affordable to low-income earners”.

Benue

Just like in other states, the federal housing estate in Benue, located at Mobile Barracks-Adeke-Welfare road in Makurdi, was completed but largely unoccupied owing to “the huge costs”.

The Federal Controller of Works in Benue could not be reached as of the time of filing this report.

Kebbi

The NHP in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State capital, was commissioned by the former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, but five years after, the houses are yet to be allocated.

When our correspondent visited the housing units located along the By-pass in Birnin Kebbi, few of the housing units’ apartments were found occupied by beggars; and some others by miscreants. The roofs of some of the houses had been blown away by windstorm.

Workers told our correspondent that they had been waiting for the Federal Housing Authority to allocate the houses.

“They always tell us they have not been given approval to allocate the houses to the public. Now, you can see the state of the housing units; it’s worsening by the day,” he said.

When our correspondent visited the office of the controller of housing at Aliero Quarters in Birnin Kebbi, he was said to have traveled out of town.

But a senior staff member in the state office of the Ministry of Housing said the delay in allocating the houses “is a national issue.” He, however, said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration had given approval for the allocation of the houses to members of the public.

“We started giving forms to people who are interested in the houses two months ago. We have taken all the applications to our headquarters in Abuja for approval so that we can begin to allocate the houses to lucky applicants,” the official who did not wish to be named said.

Jigawa

The federal government housing estate in Jigaw State, located opposite Jigawa Hotels Limited in Dutse, is unoccupied.

The estate, which is about 4km away from the Jigawa Government House, is being looked after by the officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to prevent hoodlums from vandalising its facilities.

The Public Relations Officer of NSCDC, Badarudden Tijjani, told our correspondent that the corps had an understanding with the FHA to be protecting the estate.

Civil servants asked the federal government to allocate the houses to people in order ensure maintenance of the facility.

Roofs blown off in Yobe, Bauchi

When our correspondent visited the mass housing units on Damaturu-Maiduguri road in the Yobe State capital, some of the houses had their roofs blown off.

The houses are unoccupied, but security personnel have been deployed there to prevent vandalism.

When contacted, the Yobe State Federal Controller of Housing, Attah Peter, said the estate had not been commissioned due to a windstorm that destroyed some houses.

He hinted of a plan for the Yobe State government to take over the estate.

Also, in Bauchi, some of the roofs of the completed houses at the federal estate, along the Bauchi-Kano road, have been blown off by windstorm.

Our correspondent reported that he noticed that Phase one of the housing project, which commenced in 2016, has been completed for over two years, but not yet commissioned.

Some residents of the state alleged that the sale of application forms for the houses had been moved to Abuja.

One of them, who is a teacher, Kamal Ibrahim, wondered why the federal government would allow such a huge investment to rot away.

The Chief Resident Quantity Surveyor of the Federal Ministry of Housing in Bauchi, Taiwo Samuel, told our correspondent that the process of acquiring the houses was ongoing.

He said a letter released by the ministry had asked anyone interested to go and obtain an expression of interest form which, he noted, many people did.

Houses sold to private individuals in Kano

In Kano, many houses in Phase one of the NHP located at Jaba, off Panisau Road, Fagge Local Government Area, which former President Buhari commissioned on April 7, 2022, are also unoccupied. The estate has 77 units of three-bedroom bungalows and 33 units of two-bedroom bungalows.

Some of the unoccupied buildings have shown some signs of dilapidation with roofs either blown off or damaged.

Muhammad Lawal, who serves as a “caretaker” of some of the buildings, said they were being sold to private individuals rather than civil servants.

He said a three-bedroom bungalow costs N16 million, adding that those who bought the property converted them into offices. One of the buildings is housing Docusoft Technologies Limited.

Houses completed, allocated in Borno

In Borno State, our correspondent visited the federal mass housing estate, located behind the Board of Internal Revenue Service, opposite Ramat Polytechnic,  Maiduguri, and found it completed and the houses therein allocated.

Houses allocated to Super Eagles players, others in Edo

In Edo State, houses at the federal estate, located at Idumwen-Ehigie, along the Benin-Auchi road, were allocated in April 2023 to beneficiaries, including members of the Super Eagles’ 1994 Nations Cup winners who are from the state.

Project uncompleted in Ekiti

The 70-housing units estate of the NHP in Ekiti State is still under construction.

The project is sited at Agric Olope, Off Ajilosun, Moferere, Ado Ekiti.

FG promises to subsidise costs

When contacted, Mark Chieshe, Special Assistant on Media/Communications to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, told Daily Trust on Sunday that the government was working to subsidise the costs, under the National Social Housing Fund.

He admitted that most of the houses were yet to be completed.

He, however, said the minister was working to resolve all obstacles causing the delay.

“The minister is committed to completing all housing projects and ensuring that Nigerians, for whom the houses were built, benefit from them. He is working hard to make sure that whatever issues that have led to projects not being finished are resolved, and the houses completed for Nigerians to benefit from them,” Chieshe said.

He said the ministry recently published an expression of interest that was sent out to the public for houses that were built under the NHP.

“Even though inflation has increased the cost of building materials, the minister still insisted that the houses be sold on the prices they were advertised years ago. The expression of interest was overwhelming and oversubscribed”, he said.

On the high cost of the houses, he said: “The houses that are built have different types of offtake plans. One is that people who have the money can pay outright for the houses. The second is the mortgage (option) which allows you to buy the house and spread the payment over 30 years, if you are to take the National Housing Mortgage Fund at a single digit interest rate.

“To qualify for mortgage, civil servants are not allowed to use more than one-third of their salaries to allow them take care of other living expenses.

“The challenge we are facing is that salaries of civil servants are low. That is why under the Renewed Hope of the present administration, there are plans to create and establish a National Social Housing Fund.

“We will source funding so that houses can be built and delivered for Nigerians. The reality is that most civil servants can’t afford N9 million mortgage. We are working on the Fund to see how these houses can be subsidised,” he added.

[DailyTrust]

• Blame insecurity, interest rates, middlemen sabotage for prevailing high prices
• Lagos threatens to fine, shut supermarkets without products’ price tags
• Naira appreciation: We’re posting heavy losses, BDCs cry out

Economic experts are hopeful that the current high costs of goods and food will begin to drop by the end of the first half of this year.

But that is on the condition that the current momentum to energise the economy does not suffer any reversal.

A major player in the foreign exchange sector, the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), has appealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to lower the dollar selling rate to its members in view of the massive appreciation of the naira against the dollar and other international currencies while the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency directed supermarkets and grocery stores in the state to display prices on their products or risk being fined or shut down.

A combination of factors including fuel subsidy removal, insecurity in parts of the country that has forced many farmers off the land and shortage of foreign exchange are said to be largely responsible for the high cost of living.

The naira, which exchanged for between N1,150 and  N1,180 to the dollar as of December 31, 2023, crashed  to N1,400 in January and further depreciated at the black market to N1,950 in mid-February with many speculating that it could get worse. But the naira experienced a good fortune by the middle of March following a raft of policy initiatives by the apex bank to improve the transparency and inflows of the FX market.

However, the appreciation of the naira is yet to reflect on the prices of commodities as the market has not fully adjusted to the current realities in the FX crash.

Investigation by our correspondent across major markets, chain stores and retail outlets in parts of Lagos and other parts of the country, revealed that the prices of major commodities are yet to reflect the gains of the dollar crash.

The prices of perishable agricultural produce such as vegetable crops, grains, maize, wheat, bread, beverages, and fizzy drinks have shot up astronomically.

A market survey conducted by our correspondent showed that some brands of soft drinks packaged in pet bottles, which hitherto sold for N300 per unit from January till late February are now being sold at N350, while some of the branded malt drinks sell at N450, up from N400.

Some of the chain stores in Lagos and parts of Ogun State are not helping matters in the pricing of goods.

Some of them were found to change prices indiscriminately. There were instances when they altered prices of goods already displayed on their shelves within 24 hours.

Speaking to The Nation, Kabir Ibrahim, National President of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), said it was rather scandalous that the prices of commodities were not yet reflective of the gains recorded with the naira against the greenback.

“Ideally, if the Naira is firming up, the prices of all goods should come down and should show the increase in the strength and purchasing power of the Naira,” he said.

He added: “If prices are not coming down, it’s either that the whole thing is artificial or there is lack of education on the whole matter or there is fraud in it because that’s why we kept saying that some of these items should not be dollarised.”

Ibrahim, who is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Kebram Agritrade Limited, cited the price trajectory with some of the locally-sourced goods.

His words: “I recall talking about the price of cement the other day during a guest appearance in one of the national televisions, and I said that the price was unreasonably high because 80 per cent of the components are not bought with dollars.

“Today, cement in Abuja is sold everywhere at N7,500. That price is reflecting on the increasing strength of the Naira. Now again, if you go to the price of reinforcement steel, it is also coming down.

“So if the prices of rice and other food items are not coming down, it only means one thing: an act of sabotage. It is not the fault of the farmers that don’t have any of those commodities to sell now; it’s the middlemen and businessmen.”

The AFAN boss is however optimistic that once the farmers are able to farm during this season and reap bountiful harvests, this may have a positive impact on the supply of food for the rest of the year.

“You know the farmers have sold off all they had. In fact, the harvest season is off, we are now getting into the raining season. So, we have really got nothing to sell as such.

“Therefore, the government should now concentrate on the middlemen, the people who buy and hoard these items and bring them out in order to cause artificial scarcity. So, that is what we should concentrate on; not farmers.”

Echoing similar sentiments, Peter Sunday Adebola, the Managing Director Edgefield Capital Management Limited, an investment-driven company, said several factors may be at play and could possibly be fueling the soaring cost of commodities thus far.

Adebola, who also tied the high cost of goods to the nefarious activities of unscrupulous businessmen and middlemen deliberately sabotaging government efforts, said they are escalating the lingering food crisis.

“When we look at the components or the factors that are affecting the prices of commodities in the market, I want to believe that it is not only the exchange rate. Exchange is just one of the factors affecting the prices of commodities in the market,” he said.

The technocrat who heaved a sigh of relief that the planting season is here, said it was rather heartwarming to note that the government is making good efforts to end banditry in food producing areas.

“Hopefully, as we are getting to the middle of the year, we are supposed to see critical changes in the prices of commodities in the markets. By then, the prices would become moderate, even the imported food items would also come down since the exchange rate is going down.”

He was however quick to admit that there should be cautious optimism with the gains of the naira, noting that those managing the economy should not relent in their current efforts.

In the view of Prof. Abel Ogunwale, a professor of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomosho, Oyo State, insecurity is at the heart of the matter of the food crisis in the country today.

“Whether it is  Oyo, Ekiti, Ondo, Osun, Edo, Kogi, Delta, Benue, Kaduna, Taraba, Borno, Nasarawa, Zamfara, Sokoto, Anambra, Enugu, Imo, or any other  part of the federation,  farmers have not only become an  endangered species but have abandoned their farms, no thanks to the lingering problem of insecurity they confront on a daily basis.

“We have major problems hindering our food security from four perspectives. One is the issue of security threats vis-à-vis the situation in the Benue, Zamfara, Jigawa, Borno, Adamawa axis and even the borderline between Nigeria and Cameroon, and the other aspect is the Nigeria and Niger Republic issue,” he said.

The insecurity, he maintained, is as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency in parts of the north. “We have a lot of insurgency activities affecting those areas,” he said.

For Benedict Uwajue, a public affairs analyst, a combination of factors may be responsible for soaring food prices.

He said: “Unlike unscrupulous business elements in the society, if the woman selling vegetables she got at her backyard for N400, with the rate of transportation, if she still sells at N400, how would she take care of herself? Buy food, buy firewood or gas. Kerosene is more expensive than gas now.”

The cost of fuel, Uwajue argued, has major effects on businesses.

“Until energy becomes affordable and readily available, exchange rates won’t significantly affect the cost of goods in the market,” he maintained.

Lagos orders stores to display prices of goods

The Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency yesterday directed supermarkets and grocery stores in the state to display prices on their products or risk being fined or shut down.

The agency, in a public notice posted on the website of the Lagos State Government, warned supermarkets and grocery stores in the state against  non-disclosure of price tags on products.

It said its warning was meant to “ensure transparency and protect consumers from potential price exploitation as non-disclosure of price tags can lead to misunderstandings and inconvenience at the point of sale.”

It said absence of price tags is a violation of consumer rights and the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency Law, stressing that without clear price tags, shoppers could not compare prices or make informed choices about their groceries.

ABCON to CBN: Reduce expensive dollar rate for BDCs

The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) in a letter to the apex bank said N1,251/$ rate sold to BDCs has become too expensive for operators following the massive appreciation of the naira against the dollar and other world currencies.

National President of ABCON, Dr. Aminu Gwadabe who signed the letter addressed to the CBN Director, Trade & Exchange Department claimed that naira’s speedy recovery, which was faster than expected, had made CBN’s selling rate to BDCs very expensive and difficult to offload to retail end buyers that are trooping to the undocumented forex operators for cheaper rates and avoiding the BDCs services

It expressed concerns that many BDCs which funded their accounts for dollar allocations were yet to receive their allocation of dollars to meet up the legitimate critical demand of their clients due to scrutinization of the BDCs documents for collections at the various designated centres  which  invariably made the BDCs vulnerable to exchange rate risk and significant loses.

The group insisted that with naira appreciating across markets, many BDCs which bought dollar at N1,251/$ would  lose significant income and capital should they sell at the current open  market rate of N1,235/$ and therefore the  need for the call for a further review downward of the applicable exchange rate for the period and subsequently to continue to enhance naira sovereignty.

“We discovered a worrisome development where many of our members who paid for dollar allocations at N1,251/$ with a margin of 1.5% are yet to receive their disbursement. This is happening in the face of prevailing open market rate of N1,235/$ which is lower than the authorised applicable exchange rate by the CBN to the BDCs,” ABCON  said.

The request is coming in the midst of the epoch history making achieved by the apex bank for the first time in the last 15 years for the unofficial market rates at N1,235/$ to be lower than the official BDCs applicable buying exchange rate of  N1,251/$ (plus 1.5 per cent margin) set for the BDCs by the CBN in its latest tranche of intervention.

Despite this development, ABCON lauded the CBN leadership for the recall of BDCs into the official FX window and steps taken by the apex bank to strengthen the naira against the dollar and other global currencies.

ABCON said the positive fallout of the CBN’s efforts to restore naira’s glory came faster than expected, reiterating its commitment to working with the apex bank to realise the objectives of government towards exchange rate stability and economic growth.

ABCON said its  forecasts in the ongoing market development indicated a willingness of the market to correct itself with a realistic price discovery as naira is forecast to continue to appreciate further across market with the increasing sources of foreign exchange inflows aided by the CBN policies

“It is in view of the above market developments that we write to appeal to your good selves for a readjustments and review downwards  of our funding rate of the last tranche (2nd bidding) from N1,251/$  further down to reflect current market rate discovery. This became imperative as it is only the consideration of the readjustment downward that will enable our members to upload their holding positions,” it said.

ABCON also requested that process of payments at the various disbursements centers be reviewed in the immediate time to a medium time automation to achieve enhanced timely payments while also observing the spot nature of our transactions.

The group further requested that based on the offer and acceptance rule, the approval of refunds to those that are yet to collect disbursement having funded their accounts as it is the market that determines the rate presently be considered going forward.

ABCON also requested that the apex bank introduce cut-off time for payments and collection of bids, adding that the current open ended system for payments and collection of bids does not make for effective administration and control of the process.

“Consequently, many of our members are jittery to bid/collect their bid for fear of losing money as the current market reality has the potential to force us to sell below cost price and antithetical to recent market price discovery,” the group said.

[TheNation]