Sustaining housing development, especially for the low income group of society, has been a huge challenge to developing countries such as Nigeria.
A development expert, Chief Elijah Onyeagba, who blamed the Land use act of 1978 for the greatest impediment to housing development in the country, said the land use act, which though meant to standardize land administration across the country, abolished all existing freehold systems.
The Enugwu Ukwu born Chief Onyeagba, who is the Director and Chief Executive Officer of a private firm, disclosed this when he had a one on one discussion on the reasons for failure in the Housing sector with the ABS Abuja Bureau Chief, Ekwi Ajide in his office in Abuja.
He stated that powers of governors in relation to land ownership especially in the issue of granting licenses hampers development in the sector.
Chief Onyeagba regretted that land ownership and the manner in which governments handle land matters would continue to hinder growth in the sector, regretting that registration of land in Nigeria takes as long as ten years whereas it takes other African countries like Ghana, just thirty days.
He was of the opinion that stakeholders in the Housing sector need reorientation, adding that unless the geographical systems are unified, the problem in the sector will persist.
He enumerated addressing the land use act, funding, raising the value of land through provision of infrastructure and essential amenities such as road, water, light among others as the solution to the problems of a sustainable good and affordable housing scheme for low income earners.
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