Lagos housing now landlord’s market; we’ll provide 20,000 homes yearly – ADC

African Democratic Congress (ADC) deputy governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadamosi Babatunde.

By Ayobami Okerinde

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, and his running mate, Gbadamosi Babatunde, have promised to roll out at least 20,000 affordable housing units annually if elected.

Olalere, who spoke during an interview on Hard Facts on Nigeria Info on Monday, said the plan was aimed at addressing the state’s housing crisis and rising rents.

“The issue of rent is one of supply and demand. Right now, it is a landlord’s market, and it has been for much of the last 27 years of the APC’s rule,” he said.

According to him, the ADC administration would rapidly introduce affordable housing schemes across Lagos, drawing inspiration from the administration of former governor Lateef Jakande, which he said delivered 20,000 low-cost housing units in four years.

“About 40 years ago, Alhaji Lateef Jakande was able to roll out 20,000 housing units in just four years. Low-cost housing. And accessible as well,” Olalere said.

“With the economies of scale available to the state in terms of the resources that we’ve got, we think that we’ll be able to roll out a minimum of 20,000 affordable housing units per year,” he said.

Olalere, however, said the target could rise to 100,000 units annually if the party’s plans were fully implemented.

“We might, if things go as well as we think they will, if all our plans come together, we might be able to do 100,000 affordable housing units per year,” he said.

He said even such a figure would be insufficient given Lagos’ large population and the number of households requiring affordable accommodation.

“When you consider that Lagos has a population of 24 million people or more, and you consider that that calculates out to about six million households, you realise that even 400,000 affordable housing units is not really that much,” he said.

The proposal comes amid persistent concerns over rising rents and housing affordability in Lagos, where residents have repeatedly complained about steep rent increases and the difficulty of securing affordable accommodation.