The Oniorisan Ruling House in the Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State says it plans to build a 75-acre housing scheme to address the housing deficit in the state.
Speaking with NewsNow during an assessment of the site on Tuesday, the Olori-Ebi of the Oniorisan Chieftancy family, Chief Modupe Oniorisan, said the family had secured the allocation of the land intending to contribute to the Mega City status of Lagos through the initiative.
NewsNow reports that the Lagos State Government said it is open to collaboration to bridge the housing deficits in the state.
The state government added that it was working with the Federal Housing Authority to provide affordable housing for both residents of the state and Nigerians abroad.
The state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu in a statement stated this during a recent visit by the management of FHA, led by the Managing Director and the Chief Executive Officer, Oyetunde Ojo, to the state.
Speaking further, Oniorisan noted that the decline in the housing facilities available to Lagosians and the need to address the deficit in the housing sector prompted the family to liaise with a real estate developer to address the housing shortage.
She stressed that the scheme would also include the construction of basic facilities like schools, health centres and recreational facilities to boost the economic viability of the Epe community.
In her words, “We have secured the allocation of the land following a Lagos High Court judgement and the eventual gazetting of the land to our family by the Lagos State Government and our plan as a family is to develop this place into a housing estate.
“We understand that there is a deficit in housing facilities available to Lagosians which was why we decided to establish a housing estate to address this deficit.”
She however bemoans the activities of landgrabbers which she described as contributing to the deficit in the housing sector.
Oniorisan urged families in Lagos State whom the state government may have cessed landed properties to consider using it to the benefit of the state through initiatives that can foster development.
“By the Lagos Land Use Act, every land belongs to the government, which decides on who gets what. Although families may lay claim to lands by their ancestry just like in our situation, they still need the government to approve such land for them.
“But most times, when lands are left undeveloped, they create room for landgrabbers to operate thereby creating problems for the development of housing schemes that may have been beneficial to the state.
“My advice to families who may have secured ownership of lands is that rather than leaving it idle and creating room for landgrabbers, they should consider initiatives such as this for the betterment of the state,” Oniorisan concluded.