About Us

OUR VISION

The most credible source of housing information

OUR MISSION

A medium that provides the most authoritative and authentic information on housing

MD/CEO

Ahmed Abubakar Goringo

EDITOR IN CHIEF (Acting)

Georgina I. Edem

INTRODUCING VIEWPOINT NEWS

Life’s most important things seem to be easily affordable. Air, the most important of these, is free. You don’t have to pay a dime to breathe good air. Shelter is another necessity of life Conversely, it is not as free as air. Living conditions in developing countries are deteriorating owing to the acute shortage of decent housing. As a result, slums have sprouted, which have become breeding grounds for crime and disease.
Nigeria is one country which is struggling to close a huge housing deficit for a large proportion of its population. According to experts, the country has a 28 million housing deficit, resulting from uncoordinated housing policies, insufficient investment, and poor maintenance.

Efforts by various governments in Nigeria to shore up the housing stock have not been sustained and yielded not the desired results. The administration of Shehu Shagari in the early 1980’s recorded some achievements with its housing policies. All the then local government areas in the country were covered in what was termed Low-cost Housing. The Shagari administration was toppled in 1984 and since then, no Administration has demonstrated that will or ability to execute such a grass-rooted housing project. The General Sani Abacha regime was reputed for the expansive Gwarinpa housing project in Abuja. Though the project was huge, it was criticized for being limited to the seat of power.


Due to dwindling funds and high cost of construction, the Olusegun Obasanjo government introduced the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model of housing development. By this policy, government gave land to developers to build houses for the general public. But the success of this effort is difficult to measure because corrupt practices crept into it. The so-called developers, upon accessing land, devised ways of extorting those desperate to own houses or built only for the high-end group. Government officials as well exploited this opportunity to help themselves. In collaboration with private individuals and companies, the government people carved out plots for themselves and developed gigantic or exotic structures there that would never be affordable to the average person.

Muhammadu Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC), during campaigns, promised to supply one million houses every year for the not-rich Nigerians if voted into power. So far, the administration has come and gone, yet there is no record of the millions of houses it promised.

Additionally, the National Housing Fund (NHF) scheme established by Act 3 of 1992 was to enable Nigerians, particularly those within the low and medium income levels who cannot afford commercial housing loans, such as civil servants, traders, artisans, and commercial drivers access mortgages. It was indeed a legal re-affirmation of vital aspects of the National Housing Policy with the primary purpose of supporting it to achieve its ultimate goal of ensuring that all Nigerians own homes. But, how far has this goal been achieved?

Consequently, the purpose of Viewpoint Housing News is to address these questions. Viewpoint Housing News is on mission to interrogate government policies and actions in housing. As it evaluates policies in the housing sector at all tiers of government, it will examine the sourcing and deployment of resources vis-a-vis attainment of optimum benefits and realization of set objectives. Our Top Housing Edge News will shift the post from mere talkshop to sincere, noble and practical ways of housing provision to the people of the lower rung of Nigeria’s social ladder.

The coming of Viewpoint Housing News is therefore to answer these questions. Viewpoint Housing News is on mission to interrogate government policies and actions in housing. As it evaluates policies in the housing sector at all tiers of government, it will examine the sourcing and deployment of resources vis-a-vis attainment of optimum benefits and realization of set objectives. Housing Edge News will shift the post from mere talkshop to sincere, noble and practical ways of housing provision to the people of the lower rung of Nigeria’s social ladder.

This medium is poised to work for all stakeholders in the housing sector. Professional groups in the sector will be assisted to articulate their concerns and network with government. It will explore opportunities and challenges of investing in housing in Nigeria and provide useful information to investors. With the mission to disseminate accurate and incisive stories that will engineer the sector, Viewpoint Housing News will bring a turnover in Nigeria’s housing endeavors. The vision is to be the most credible source of news/information and authoritative medium in the housing sector.

It is projected that Nigeria needs $2.9 trillion in the next 30 years to finance infrastructure. Out of this, housing needs $300 billion chunk. This medium will stimulate the needed will and show the way to source the $300 billion and put it to the expected use. If the quantity and adequacy of housing owned by a nation bears direct impact on the social economic and environmental well-being of the people, time is now for government and relevant stakeholders to gird up the loins and make the housing sector to be what it should be.

Georgina I. Edem

Editor-in-Chief (Acting)