Scrap Land Use Act to Address Housing Deficit The Social Development Integrated Center has charged the Federal Government to remove the Land Use Act in the constitution in order to address housing deficit. The centre, which is also known as Social Action, urged the Federal Government to create more housing schemes apart from the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company. The housing programmes expected to be established by government, according to a statement by the Communications Officer of the centre, Lillian Akhigbe, should be able to address the over 17 million housing deficit currently faced by Nigerians. It expressed the need for the apex government to be wary of the tendency of the elite to hijack the current NMRC housing initiative to the detriment of average Nigerians. Executive Director of the centre, Dr. Isaac Osuoka, said, “We urge the Nigerian government to create more housing schemes, which would provide housing grants and aids to specific categories of Nigerians, with special consideration for those whose chances of owning their homes through personal efforts or by a regular mortgage loan are slim owing to their prevailing circumstances. “The Land Use Act is currently locked into the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended). So, the only way to amend the Act is by a constitutional amendment, which is almost impossible, owing to the long process of altering constitutional provisions. “The Land Use Act has to be removed from the Nigerian Constitution as it has not being for the good of the people.” The centre, however, explained that though the NMRC programme of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration had brought a huge sigh of relief, it was not enough to solve the housing problems in the country. It noted that developed countries had made securing loans to build houses with the funds paid back over a period of 20 years easy, adding that the Nigerian government should key into such practice. Source: PUNCH
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 10:13:32 +0000
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