The Lagos State government and Access Bank have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to construct 704 housing units at Odo-Nla, Ikorodu as part of efforts to bridge the state’s housing deficit, .
The scheme tagged the Lagos State Access Bank Housing Scheme, addresses the challenges of housing deficits in the state.
It will be built on 9.98 hectares of land and comprises 44 blocks of two-bedroom apartments.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who signed the MOU and received it at the Lagos House, Ikeja, commended the bank’s management for partnering with the government to provide affordable homes for Lagosians.
The governor said there are 14 million housing deficits in Nigeria caused by a shortage of land, among other factors. He added that bridging the gap in housing requires bold interventions, innovative solutions, and collaborative efforts.
Sanwo-Olu further said that in addressing the issue, his administration embraced Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to provide a platform for the private sector to partner with the government.
“In collaboration with Access Bank PLC, we embarked on a transformative housing project to deliver the first batch of 704 two-bedroom apartments at Odo-Nla in Ikorodu. This initiative is designed specifically for low-income Lagosians, offering affordable mortgage terms: a down payment of just 10 per cent, a single-digit interest rate, and a repayment period of up to 20 years,” the governor said.
He noted that the construction of the housing units will take 24 months and, when completed, will contribute to the socio-economic development of the area and the state in general.
The Commissioner of the Ministry of Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, said the journey into the partnership began towards the end of Sanwo-Olu’s administration’s first term.
He said the partnership resulted from the governor’s directive to the ministry to collaborate with Access Bank to provide affordable housing for low-income earners.
He further said several ministries were involved in the negotiation with the bank, which he described as challenging but expressed happiness that the project was about to commence.
The general managing director of Access Bank, Roosevelt Ogbonna, said that in 2008, the bank attempted to partner with the federal government on the project, but these efforts proved abortive.
Roosevelt said the bank’s management later partnered with the Lagos State government because of its public-private partnership initiative.
“We want to change lives by what we are doing. We are not doing this project to make money but to contribute to making Lagos a centre of excellence,” he said.