Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, yesterday, disclosed that his administration is set to build affordable houses in the state to address the over 300,000 housing deficit in the state.

This was during a 2-day workshop on housing themed: “Quest for Adequate and Sustainable Real Estate for Edo People” organized by the state government.

Governor Obaseki, represented by his deputy, Hon. Philip Shuaibu, said the nation is faced with over 17 million housing deficit and Edo State is contributing over 300,000, but he assured the people that his administration upturn the deficit.

Challenging the participants of the workshop to come up with affordable models for the masses, Obaseki added that the workshop was to make Edo a model to other states in terms of housing.

He said: “This workshop is a real business to turn the state into a hub utilising the geographical location”.

He expressed his administration’s keenness to avoid failure, hence the workshops to develop the state and make it the envy of other states in the nation.

Related News

Meanwhile, the governor revealed that a bill would be sent to the House of Assembly to give legal backing to building plans in the state and address the housing deficit in the end.

For his part, Alhaji Ali Magashi, the workshop Chairman, praised Governor Obaseki for the well-thought-out workshop on housing, saying that it revealed that when educated people are at the helm of affairs in the political scene, the value of economy would be maximised.

In an address titled “Affordable Housing Finance in a developing Economy”, he said that it was regrettable that there is no appreciable success in the crusade for affordable housing development in the country.

He therefore tasked the participants to see the workshop as an opportunity and a way of proffering solution to the housing Challenges in not only the state but also the country at large.

He suggested that the governor should form an advisory and monitoring committee that would monitor and give feedback on the implementation of its housing policies.

The two-day workshop, which commenced on Wednesday, had stakeholders in real estate, and financial institutions from across the country in attendance.